Anheuser-Busch‘s CEO has refused to rule out partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney again – as he avoided answering how much the marketing blunder had cost Bud Light.
Brendan Whitworth, US CEO, insisted that his priority was his employees and added that they had poured three times the amount of investment into Bud Light for this year – as sales for the beer dropped a staggering 28.5 percent.
Speaking to CBS Mornings, Whitworth was asked if he would send Mulvaney, 26, another can, knowing the backlash.
But instead of giving a definitive answer, the CEO instead launched into a pre-rehearsed speech about the ‘social conversation’ that the disaster campaign caused – adding that they ‘need to deeply understand the consumer.’
He was then challenged over his refusal to answer, with Tony Dokoupil asking if the decision was a mistake – as the company has lost a staggering $20billion in market cap.
Brendan Whitworth, US CEO, insisted that his priority was the employees and added that they had poured three times the amount of investment into Bud Light for this year
Whitworth again avoided the question, saying: ‘As we move forward we want to focus on what we do best, which is brewing great beer for everyone, listening to our consumers, being humble in listening to them.
‘Making sure that we do right by our employees, take care and support our partners, and ultimately make an impact in the communities that we serve.’
He added that Bud Light ‘doesn’t belong’ in the ‘divisive conversation’ around the marketing move, saying that it has ‘moved away from beer’.
The CEO said that the impact on the employees is his responsibility, and that ‘everything we do, I’m accountable for’.
His comments come after the beer brand saw its sales drop 28.5 percent in the week ending June 17 – one of the worst weeks since the campaign aired in April.
It’s a deeper drop from the week ending on June 10, which saw a 26.8 percent drop, according to Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ.
The new low beats the previous worst – an almost 26 percent drop- for the week ending May 25.
It comes after claims that two Bud Light marketing executives had finally been fired over the fiasco – something which the company deny.
Sales have plummeted 24 percent in the latest data, which comes after Modelo Especial dethroned Bud Light as the top-selling beer in America after 22 years of holding the top spot
Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, has seen its market cap value plummet $27 billion following a disastrous team-up with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney
The brand’s ousted marketing chief Alissa Heinerscheid, 39, said she planned to update the ‘fratty’ and ‘out of touch’ branding. VP for Mainstream Brands Daniel Blake, 34, also voluntarily took a leave of absence earlier this year following the controversy
VP of marketing Alissa Heinerscheid, 39, and VP for Mainstream Brands Daniel Blake, 34, both took a voluntary leave of absence following the backlash.
But sources told the Daily Caller that both had been official fired following the announcement that they would be stepping back in April.
When approached by DailyMail.com earlier this month, a friend of Heinerscheid’s said ‘she’s not supposed to talk about it, she can’t.’
In a statement to DailyMail.com, a spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch said they were still both on a ‘leave of absence.’
Speaking just days before the controversy, Heinerscheid said she planned to update the ‘fratty’ and ‘out of touch’ branding.
Heinerscheid’s job was taken over by Todd Allen, who recently served as global vice president of Budweiser.
When approached by DailyMail.com regarding claims that she had no idea of the campaign, Heinerscheid (left) declined to comment – but a friend said: ‘she can’t talk about it’, before being whisked away
It is unclear if Heinerscheid is on paid leave from the company, but she joined in 2022 and vowed to freshen up its image
Their departures came amid backlash to a controversial March Madness advertisement featuring trans TikToker Dylan Mulvaney
The marketing decision appears to be one of the worst in American history to come from an advertising backlash.
Sources told the Daily Caller that executives only claimed they were on a ‘leave of absence’ to avoid a lawsuit.
They said: ‘To my understanding, if we publicly announced the word “fire” it opens up the potential for them to sue us. That’s why we said leave of absence.
‘The wholesalers would have had an absolute HAY DAY with leadership if they didn’t remove [Heinerscheid].’
‘Wholesalers were told they are both gone for good by leadership during in-person conversations,’ the source claimed. ‘They already shifted all their direct reports to new people and the head of marketing.
He added that he thought Blake was ‘actually awesome.’ ‘I think he was just caught in [the] cross fire,’ the source said. ‘But also he did hire her… so that’s a fault.’
In another blow to the brand Modelo Especial dethroned Bud Light as the top-selling beer in America after 22 years of the longtime industry leader holding the top spot.
Modelo surpassed Bud Light’s $297 million – which was a 22.8 percent fall in sales compared to the same time last year.
It is the first time since 2001 that Bud Light has not been in the top spot, dethroning its sister brand Budweiser for the ‘King of Beer’ title in 2001.
US sales of Modelo are controlled by rival Constellation Brands and do not count as part of AB InBev’s global volumes as part of an anti-trust settlement.
