Bud Light sales drop for 6th week due to Mulvaney boycott.

Sales of Bud Light Continue to Decline Amid Controversy

New data from Nielsen and consulting company Bump Williams reveals that Bud Light sales have decreased by 28% in the week starting May 8th compared to the same period last year. This is a larger decline than the 23.6% drop in sales for the week ending May 6th. Meanwhile, sales of Coors Light and Miller Lite have increased by 17% and 15% respectively during the same time period.

The Controversy

The decline in sales follows a social media campaign with transgender influencer and activist Dylan Mulvaney. In early April, Mulvaney posted a personalized Bud Light can with the hashtag #BudLightPartner on multiple social media accounts. This drew confusion and calls for a boycott of the brand. Some country music singers indicated they would cut ties with the product, and some industry analysts suggested that Anheuser-Busch was seemingly choosing to alienate its customer base by partnering with Mulvaney.

Local Distributors Respond

Some local distributors have attempted to bring back sales of Bud Light and other Anheuser-Busch products. For instance, the Alabama-based Bama Budweiser distributor released an advertisement that sought to distance itself and Bud Light from the Mulvaney social media posts. The ad stated that Mulvaney is not under contract with Bud Light and that the videos seen were Mulvaney’s own social media posts that went viral. The ad also stated that many web-based news outlets have distorted the story. The distributor has received positive feedback for the ad campaign, but there has been no response from Anheuser-Busch or Bud Light corporate officials.

Marketing Executives Placed on Leave

Two Bud Light marketing executives, Alissa Heinerscheid and Daniel Blake, were placed on leave, according to the company. Anheuser-Busch told a St. Louis-based news organization.