Billy Busch, the heir to the Anheuser-Busch company, which is Bud Light’s parent company, spoke about the controversy the company has been facing since giving away a pack of customized cans to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. He told Harvey Levin in an interview with TMZ that he did not believe that company founder Adolphus Busch (1839-1913) would have approved of this marketing strategy:
I think my family, my ancestors would have rolled over in their grave. They were very patriotic, they loved this country and what it stood for. They believe the transgender, gays, that sort of thing was all a very personal issue. They loved this country because it is a free country, and people are allowed to do what they want. But it was never meant to be on a beer can and never meant to be pushed in people’s faces.
He told Sean Hannity in an interview on FOX that Anheuser-Busch is paying the price for its campaign. The company lost 28% of its gross profit between April and June of this year and its market value decreased by more than $6 billion. Billy Busch believes this could be due to the fact that Bud Light alienated its regular consumers by targeting the LGBT community:
They are paying the price. And I think the company greatly miscalculated what they thought was being inclusive, but it really was divisive. I think my family was, they live by the motto, ‘Making friends is our business.’ And they believe that bringing people together, making it a sociable, fun, beer-drinking experience was the way to go. But you know, people that drink Bud Light, that drink beer, really don’t relate to that kind of advertising. And so it was it was a huge mistake.
Bud Light, a beer consumed by conservative Americans
The Anheuser-Busch heir explained that Bud Light drinkers tend to be conservative Americans. That is why, he said, working with the transgender influencer caused the company to lose a lot of money because a significant number of consumers do not identify with the new values conveyed by the company:
You know, I think people who drink beer, I think they’re your common folk. I think they are the blue-collar worker who goes and works hard every single day. The last thing they want pushed down their throat or to be drinking is a beer can with that kind of message on it. I just don’t think that’s what they’re looking for. They want their beer to be truly American, truly patriotic, as it always has been. Truly, America’s beer, which Bud Light was and probably isn’t any longer.
