Bud Light’s #EasyCarryContest seemed a pretty straightforward consumer campaign…until it blew up in its face.
Yes we’re still talking about this.
And it’s not just to jump on the attention wagon. Readers are great, but there are also lessons to be learnt. So, shall we dive back into some March (April) Madness?
What’s resparked this somewhat is the sales data from Bud Light’s July 4th weekend being released, and it’s not pretty. According to Nielsen IQ data provided by Bump Williams Consulting, the latest figures revealed a significant drop of 23.6% in Bud Light sales for the one-week period ending July 8, compared to the same period last year.
The fall out from Bud Lash has given Bud Light all the wrong headlines and business TV coverage in the US
But this isn’t hard seltzers fault. Conversely, Coors Light experienced a remarkable surge with a 30.2% increase in sales, with Miller Lite also enjoyed a notable boost of 25.3% during the same week.
So, wassup?
Some have called it a campaign, others have called it a partnership, in reality it was neither. For those who didn’t see it all happen across your newsfeeds I’ll give you the quick run down shortly. But the question that’s more intriguing than any of this, from a marketers standpoint, is should Bud Light have worked with Dylan Mulvaney at all?
Let’s run through it all and try to leave our pitchforks at the door.
The original campaign (if you missed it…)
It all started with a March Madness campaign.
For anyone reading who doesn’t follow US basketball, March Madness is a knock out tournament played between men’s college basketball teams to determine a national champion. The tournament runs throughout March and into April and is a great opportunity for brands, especially in recent years.
ESPN reported that 2023 was in fact a record breaking year for the tournament, attracting an average of 9.92 million viewers through the tournament, peaking at 12.6m. So no surprise that a beer brand famous for linking with men’s sports wanted in on the action.
On paper Bud Light’s #EasyCarryContest seemed a pretty straightforward consumer campaign…
Bud Light was running its ‘Easy Carry Contest’ campaign throughout March Madness, where entrants were asked to carry three or more glasses and cans of Bud Light, record it and post on their social profile of choice with the hashtag #EasyCarryContest. The winner (selected at random) would receive $15k.
As part of the promotion Bud Light asked a number of influencers to post and enter, one of which was the trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney – who has 10.8 million followers on TikTok and 1.8 million on Instagram.
They timed it with Dylan’s ‘Day 365 of Girlhood’ and even printed her face onto the cans provided to her.
She dutifully did the ‘challenge’, walked a bunch of beers and glasses to the table and gave the shout out. Even though (admittedly) she had absolutely no idea what March Madness was.
The Reaction
Where it all started: Dylan Mulvaney’s Instragam post to support Bud Light’s #EasyCarryContest campaign
The post did not go down well with a particular group of the brand’s fans. Possibly most notably with Kid Rock and country music singer Travis Tritt. Who have banned all Anheuser-Busch products from their tours.
Kid Rock announced this ban with a video he placed on his social media profiles of him shooting a number of Bud Light cans with an assault rifle, then proclaiming “F*** Bud Light. And f*** Anheuser-Busch”. Subtle.
If all of this is sounding pretty wild, it is! Though sadly it’s also quite indicative of the state of play in the US currently.
What happened? Three months on…
While it’s easy to laugh at all of this. Bud Light’s sales did in fact slump, massively, according to some, by as much as 20% in the first week. Fox News has even estimated the damage to ABInbev, owners of Bud Light, at something in the region of $5 billion in market value.
More recently, in the beverage aisle of Costco, observant shoppers have noticed a peculiar asterisk adorning the price tag of Bud Light beer.
Seasoned Kirkland members have recognised this symbol before and have dubbed it the “death star.” Speculation arises that this subtle sign may indicate that the retail giant, one of the largest in the country, is contemplating a decision to refrain from restocking the troubled beer brand.
Among other various headlines it’s worth noting that Bud Light lost its number one in American beer sales spot (to Modelo) and brand love has dipped so low the brand has fallen out of the Top 10 most loved beers in America according to recent polling from YouGov.
The situation is so dire that Alissa Heinerscheid, the marketing vice president who oversaw the campaign is said to have taken a leave of absence.. Bud Light has certainly found itself in a “Dilly Dilly” of a pickle.
The response
Cases of Bud Light have been left unsold in supermarkets and liquor stores across the US following the fallout from BudLash
CBS reported that a top executive from ABInbev said: “We need to clarify the facts that this was one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,” and added that it would focus its marketing campaigns on sports and music. Chief executive officer, Brendan Whitworth, said in a statement it “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
AB InBev then offered free cases of beer to their wholesalers to make up for the dip in sales that has left them holding stock due to the boycott off the back of the marketing.
Their cherry on top was the “third-party ad agency” who were responsible for the work, being fired. Agency unknown at this point.
So, back peddle, send out free beer, blame the agency. PR strategy at its finest.
Should they have worked with Mulveney in the first place?
I’m going to come right out and say it. No, they shouldn’t have worked with her. And I want to be clear, this isn’t an anti trans sentiment.
They shouldn’t have worked with her for a number of reasons, starting with how quick they were to exit when it went south.
I’ll agree that stock dropping and sales plummeting aren’t good things (see, marketers can do business). But the back peddle was so rapid that it really felt as if Bud Light were never truly engaged in supporting or growing the community.
The situation now reads as a quick dip into the demographic to see if they could pull any more market share. As soon as it blew up they fled the scene. Not cool.
Mulvaney herself has recently stated: “For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all.” And I couldn’t agree more.
Secondly, from Bud Light’s perspective, it was lazy. As mentioned earlier Mulvaney proudly proclaims about knowing nothing about March Madness. She didn’t even know what it was until Bud told her. And in looking over her content she doesn’t seem to be a big Bud Light (or even beer) drinker at all. It really does read as if Heinerscheid, who wanted the brand to move away from its “frat boy” image, had the team just go and find an influencer in the trans community. And with Mulvaney being one of the most popular, she was chosen, job done.
I imagine the campaign having ever so slightly more credibility from working with a trans influencer who actually had an interest in beer or basketball, but I guess it was just a numbers game. Is she trans? Does she have a high follower count?
There is much for beer brands, marketers and influencers to learn from how the Bud Light campaign went wrong
In all honesty Mulvaney shouldn’t have said yes. I know we all have bills to pay and money is money. But the number one rule all influencers tell me when I speak with them, the golden three words: protect the brand. Be you and do your thing. This is the most common advice I hear influencers give. With Mulvaney openly not caring about anything she was posting about, why go near it if it wasn’t for the payout?
One could argue that any big household brand backing trans influencers is good, and that Mulvaney should be partnering with these brand’s that don’t align for nothing else other than promoting the community. To which I wholeheartedly agree. But before signing on the dotted line it’s all influencers duties to dig deeper and ensure there is genuine commitment to the community being used for promotion.
Ultimately influencers should pick brands that they believe in and honestly, what reason has Bud Light given any of us to believe in their stance on the trans community?
Enjoy your summer all, oh and if I’ve upset anyone please go ahead and take an assault rifle to any of my beer brands.
- You can read more of Dan Hooper’s articles on The Buyer here.
- To find out more about YesMore’s brand and marketing work with drinks brands click here.
