Bud Light donates $200k to support LGBTQ+ small businesses.

Bud Light Digs Itself Deeper Hole as It Donates $200,000 to ‘Empower LGBTQ+ Owned Small Businesses’

There’s a saying in politics: Stand in the middle of the road and you’re bound to get run over. As the folks who brew Bud Light are discovering, however, you’re just as likely to get hit if you keep jumping from one side to the other.

In April, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s fortunes took a massive nosedive when some geniuses in the Bud Light marketing department decided they wanted to ditch the brand’s “fratty” image for one that was “inclusive” — and “inclusivity,” to them, involved a promotion featuring transgender TikTok “influencer” Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light’s sales quickly dropped, leading to non-apology apologies from corporate brass, ultra-patriotic commercials and an attempt by the CEO to brand the idea of the Mulvaney sponsorship deal as a campaign as being “misinformation.”

But, uh-oh! Not only did that not placate conservative Americans sick of having wokeness shoved down their throats, but it also angered woke LGBT pressure groups, who were now angry Anheuser-Busch had small businesses.”>stopped shoving rainbow wokeness down the gaping maw of Middle America.

Well, now it’s almost “pride month” — the perfect time for Bud Light folks to jump back to the other side of the road and hope no one notices.

pic.twitter.com/T3TVGEzIi0

— Budweiser (@budweiserusa) April 14, 2023

Thus, Bud Light going woke again is a quick and easy way to negate all of the BudLighting it’s been doing.

The Problem with Bud Light’s Wokeness

The phenomenon of a company having to backpedal from an overly woke campaign has become known, in the short space of just two months, as “BudLighting.” Nor has the boycott against Bud Light abated; according to Newsweek, data by Bump Williams Consulting and Nielsen IQ found Bud Light sales were down 29.5 percent year-over-year on the week ending May 20, a new low. Reports say AB InBev has lost $15.7 billion in market cap because of the boycott, and there have been sightings of 24-cases of Bud Light being sold for as low as $3.49.

Thus, after two months of furious hopping, there’s only one place left: the middle of the road. And we all know what happens when you stand there.

Bud Light’s Latest Move

Now, Bud Light is donating $200,000 to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) to help out LGBTQ+ businesses. “This year, Bud Light will donate $200,000 to the NGLCC in support of its Communities of Color Initiative (CoCi),” the release said. “This initiative is designed to support the growth and success of minority LGBTQ+-owned businesses through certification, scholarships and business development in an effort to create equal opportunities for the economic advancement of small businesses in the LGBTQ+ community.”

As the marketing publication Ad Age noted, the “donation to support LGBT Chamber of Commerce comes as AB InBev deals with criticism for failing to speak up for transgender rights in wake of Dylan Mulvaney controversy.”

Perhaps Bud Light marketers thought this was the perfect time to mend fences with the wokeness brigade while still flying under the radar. After all, we’re about to hit “pride month,” the 30 days when basically every corporate logo is rerendered in rainbow colors. (Except in the Middle East, of course.)

And not only is it pride-tastic, it’s intersectional, too! “Bud Light was brewed to be an ‘Easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy’ beer for everyone 21+ and that still holds true today,” the company said. “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.”

But, the problem is that none of this is going to go under the radar because Bud Light has become the shining symbol of everything Middle America loathes about corporate America’s obeisance to progressive activism.

The Future of Bud Light

Thus, after two months of furious hopping, there’s only one place left: the middle of the road. And we all know what happens when you stand there. The question is, will Bud Light continue to jump from one side of the road to the other or will it finally find a place to stand?

Only time will tell, but for now, Bud Light’s latest move has left many wondering if the company will ever be able to regain the trust of its customers.

• Bud Light’s sales dropped after a promotion featuring transgender TikTok “influencer” Dylan Mulvaney
• The company attempted to brand the idea of the Mulvaney sponsorship deal as a campaign as being “misinformation”
• Bud Light is donating $200,000 to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) to help out LGBTQ+ businesses
• The phenomenon of a company having to backpedal from an overly woke campaign has become known as “BudLighting”
• After two months of furious hopping, there’s only one place left: the middle of the road