The verdict is in, and it isn’t good for AB and Bud Light. After the Dylan Mulvaney marketing debacle and the subsequent mishandling of literally every aspect of the fallout, Bud Light has taken a figurative curb-stomping sales-wise, as literally every competitor is up. Even Pabst Blue Ribbon. Ouch.
We had some suspicion this would happen, as distributors have been complaining of excess inventory, and bars, restaurants, and stores have had cases of Bud Light sitting around, gathering dust. At the same time, happy consumers walked away with Yuengling, Miller, Coors, or one of the litany of competitors.
While AB was crawling in the dark, issuing vague apologies, and finally ditching the marketing team responsible for the PR disaster, Yuengling and others have seized the moment with patriotic ads and can designs aimed at swiping market share, and it is working. Check this out.
According to Beer Business Daily, AB volumes were down over 12% last month, led by Dylan Mulvaney poster boy, Bud Light, which was down a staggering 21.4%.
“April scan numbers are in, and it’s not pretty,” the site tweeted Monday afternoon.
Molson Coors was up 7%, while both Miller Lite and Coors Light were in the double-digits. And how about Yuengling!?
America’s Oldest Brewery showed everyone what staying power is all about, skyrocketing over 14% last month while also sending subtle warning shots via Twitter at Bud Light.
The Bud Light boycott is actually working:
The company is tripling their marketing spending to save the brand this summer.
The company is literally giving away beer for free to sellers.
Bud Light sales dropped 17% by mid-April.
CEO Michel Doukeris has officially disavowed the… pic.twitter.com/LLayxdV1eX
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 4, 2023
Yuengling recently announced a partnership with the former Bud Light brand ambassador, country superstar Lee Brice, and unveiled sweet patriotic camo-cans honoring America’s veterans. Talk about seizing the moment!
Don’t look now, but the fellas up in Pottsville released their summer Red, White and Blue cans today. Buckle up.
Looks like both Budweiser and Busch took on some Bud Light shrapnel, too, while everyone’s favorite college beer — PBR — had a nice month.
AB has botched the disaster in about every possible way. Vague apologies, cheesy, faux-patriotic ads espousing the same “fratty” behavior they vowed to change, and a complete unwillingness to fall on the sword and admit their mistake. It has cost the brand dearly, and many beer drinkers simply may never come back.
Even the community Bud Light was seeking is in full-blown revolt. Allegedly gay bars in Chicago are joining the boycott because AB didn’t double down and show support for Mulvaney. Ouch.
Gays bars in Chicago have now entered the Bud Light boycott, while one extremist LGBTQ activist in New York said the beer would soon be “extinct” because it hasn’t fully supported Mulvaney.
Anheuser Busch has made the right mad and the left mad, and their sales are in the toilet where their beer usually ends up instead. Good times for the fine folks at Yuengling and Molson/Coors. Unfortunately, the Bud Clydesdales might have to get part-time jobs pulling handsome cabs in New York City to help offset the loss in sales.
Maybe after this disaster, other companies will look at Bud Light and think twice before spitting in the eye of their core consumer.
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