US Senator Ted Cruz Claims Bud Light Used Trans Influencer Dylan Mulvaney to Advertise to Minors Under 21 Years Old
(Photo: Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo)
GOP Senator Ted Cruz sent a memo to the Beer Institute’s Code Compliance Review Board (CCRB) on Wednesday evening. The memo accused Bud Light of refusing to provide information about its alleged partnership with TikToker Dylan Mulvaney. The senator further claimed that Bud Light and Mulvaney violated rules preventing the marketing of alcohol to minors since the influencer’s audience is mostly under 21 years old.
Over the past several months, Bud Light has consistently been in the news after reports of record losses after its products were included in a social media post by Mulvaney on April 1. After the TikToker’s post, many conservatives called for boycotts of Bud Light with a few relatively well-known celebrities, like Kid Rock, joining the anti-trans cause.
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Most recently, Bud Light appears to have lost its spot as the US’s number-one selling beer to Modelo. This isn’t a complete loss for the company behind Bud Light, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), since it also owns Modelo products. However, in the US, the Grupo Modelo branding is licensed to Constellation Brands Inc. to sell.
Last month Cruz, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, sent a letter to the US CEO of Anheuser-Busch who is also the chair of the Beer Institute. He claims AB InBev is stonewalling them and is hiding information on the company’s supposed partnership with Mulvaney.
The newest memo obtained by The Daily Mail, acts as an update and details Cruz’s case against Bud Light and Mulvaney. Part of the case alleges Bud Light had a longer-standing relationship with the influencer.
The memo read, “On February 11, 2023, Mulvaney posted a video on Instagram with the caption #budlight partner. The video showed Mulvaney dancing in a bathtub with an open can of Bud Light, a stake of Bud Light cans in the background.”
According to the memo, the post contradicts AB InBev CEO Michel Doukeris’s May 4 statement where he described the company’s partnership with Mulvaney as “one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign.”
The Texas senator is also taking issue with the company allegedly not taking to action to prevent the advertisement of alcohol to minors. Cruz alleges that Bud Light and Mulvaney failed to utilize Instagram tools to “age-gate” individuals under the age of 21 from seeing the content.
Mulvaney has a “special attractiveness” to younger kids according to Cruz.
“26-year-old Mulvaney has a young fan base, employs themes that are especially attractive to girls and young teens, and is most easily recognized by young people, especially those on TikTok, Instagram, and other forms of social media,” wrote Ted Cruz.
The senator further claims that social media posts violate the Beer Institute’s ad code. The code requires more than 73.6% of the expected audience to be of legal drinking age.
“Sen. Cruz asks the CCRB to find that Anheuser-Busch’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney—and particularly the Instagram posts dated February 11, 2023, and April 1, 2023—violated the Ad Code’s prohibition on marketing to minors,” read the memo.
It remains to be seen if the CCRB will find validity in the case presented in the memo. Cruz is also in the process of attempting to run an independent congressional oversight investigation.
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