It looks like actions might have consequences in the matter of Anheuser-Busch and its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney.
The relationship created a huge controversy because of the apparent endorsement of Mulvaney, who claims to be trans but mocks women with his caricatures of them and pretends to be a little girl. Musicians Travis Tritt and Kid Rock, as well as many others, boycotted the brand. It appears to have had an impact on sales, with cases down 10.7 percent for the week ending April 8, according to Beer Business Daily.
One of the things that brought the controversy into sharp focus was a video from a podcast with Alissa Heinerscheid, the marketing vice president for Bud Light since 2022. She did the podcast just before the controversy with Mulvaney, but it explained everything about how they could have gone down such a bad road. Heinerscheid described how she was trying to change the brand, to make it more “inclusive” and bring in younger people.
Meet Alissa Heinerscheid, Bud Light’s VP of Marketing. She explains her strategy of using “inclusive” marketing to promote the brand to young people. pic.twitter.com/hFpe8YnbBc
— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) April 9, 2023
“We had this hangover, I mean Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out of touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach,” she said. They certainly did take “another approach” and talk about being “out of touch.” I think it’s cost them big time.
Then their first defense didn’t go over well, when they said the “commemorative can [for Mulvaney] was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.” Recognizing someone pretending to be a “girl” for 365 days was what they were commemorating.
The CEO put out a statement that made no one happy, and then Budweiser tried to put out a patriotic ad. None of that went over well.
But now, it looks like Heinerscheid might be suffering some consequences, too.
AdAge is reporting that the marketing VP has taken a “leave of absence” and has been replaced by Todd Allen, who has been the global marketing VP for Budweiser.
The brewer has also streamlined its marketing function to reduce layers “so that our most senior marketers are more closely connected to every aspect of our brand’s activities,” a company spokesperson said in a statement, adding that “these steps will help us maintain focus on the things we do best: brewing great beer for all consumers, while always making a positive impact in our communities and on our country.”
The statement noted that “we communicated some next steps with our internal teams and wholesaler partners,” adding that “we made it clear that the safety and welfare of our employees and our partners is our top priority.” [….]
According to a statement from City Distributors, a Topeka, Kans.-based Anheuser-Busich distributor, the custom can decision “circumvented the proper approval channels.”
Now, is that a permanent “leave of absence”? It’s hard to know, but when they replace you, it sure sounds like you might not be coming back.
It appears the Bud Light marketing VP behind the Dylan Mulvaney campaign is now transitioning to unemployed.https://t.co/MFZMqWCReq
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) April 22, 2023
I think this is a message to customers. But, it’s a little too late at this point—and it’s still not an apology. I don’t think it’s likely to help them much. Once they went down this road, it’s going to be tough to recover the customers they lost
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