It’s one thing to intentionally create what was arguably the worst marketing decision in history but it’s a whole different ballgame when a company doubles and triples down — while simultaneously trying to win back formerly loyal customers who can’t stop buying the company’s product fast enough.

I’m talking about Bud Light, of course, which has now lost roughly 30 percent in sales since hooking up [no pun intended] with a 26-year-old man pretending to be a teenage girl — Dylan Mulvaney — who first gained notoriety on TikTok, as he chronicled his first “365 days of womanhood.” Mulvaney’s act is disgusting, yet at least a few folks in the Bud Light marketing department bought it — hook, line, and sinker.

As the boycott against Bud Light grew stronger, and more costly to Anheuser-Busch InBev, the panicked beer maker put out a statement announcing that the Mulvaney fiasco wasn’t really a campaign at all, while laughingly saying “only one can” featuring Mulvaney was produced.

Not to nitpick, but who the hell cares if it was one can or a million cans? The number of cans was irrelevant. The fact that Bud Light risked decades and countless millions of dollars building brand loyalty, only to throw it away in the name of “woke,” not to mention, via the Mulvaney character, was insane.

Then we find out that Bud Light is set to sponsor three different Pride events in the coming months.

To be fair, deals for those events were probably signed before the Mulvaney disaster hit, but with the everyman beer brand practically on life support and Anheuser-Busch InBev stock taking a beating, one would think A-B InBev could have arranged to have Bud Light dropped from the publicized list of sponsors, while agreeing to still pay the sponsorship money.

The company then tried to, in effect, give away free Bud Light beer, and in one transparent act of desperation, Budweiser hilariously announced a deal with Harley Davidson.

Anheuser-Busch has planned a huge marketing blitz this summer—in addition to temporarily redesigning their blue Bud Light aluminum bottles in camouflage, they’ll be doing a limited-edition Harley-Davidson can. 😂 pic.twitter.com/FTZWwI1mpf

— Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) May 22, 2023

Alrighty, then — that pretty much caught us up. Until this morning, that is.

Bud Light on Tuesday announced a $200,000 donation to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), “the largest advocacy organization dedicated to expanding economic opportunities and advancements for LGBTQ people, and the exclusive certifying body for LGBTQ-owned businesses.”

Bud Light was brewed to be an ‘Easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy’ beer for everyone 21+ and that still holds true today. We look forward to extending our work with the NGLCC to continue making a positive impact on the LGBTQ+ businesses that play a critical role in bringing people everywhere, together.

The sinking ship be damned, skipper! Full speed ahead! Oh, and skipper? We’re going to need a bigger shovel.

Here’s more:

Bud Light will also support the initiative’s “Biz Pitch” program, which allows minority LGBTQ+ business owners to compete for a $5,000 grant and the opportunity to compete for a $50,000 grand prize at the NGLCC’s annual business and leadership conference.

The $200,000 donation adds to the more than $13 million Anheuser-Busch has donated to support LGBTQ+ causes over the past two decades.

On Tuesday, it was reported that Bud Light sales crashed nearly 30 percent for the week of May 20 compared to last year. Further, Anheuser-Busch’s market value has fallen by $15.7 billion since the boycott began. On March 31, the company’s stock was worth $66, but now it is down to $54.

One — a sane one — can only scratch his or her (as in two genders, only) head.

The Bottom Line

We thankfully live in a country where corporations are not only free to make their own decisions, good or bad — although it appears that fiduciary responsibility to shareholders is non-existent at A-B InBev — but also where consumers have many options to consider, including brands of beer that don’t risk losing long-loyal customers in favor of pandering to a fraction of the population in the name of “woke.”