Senators claim Anheuser-Busch targeted minors with Dylan Mulvaney promotion.

Senators Call for Investigation into Anheuser-Busch’s Marketing Tactics

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) are demanding that the Beer Institute investigate whether Anheuser-Busch improperly marketed to minors through a recent promotion with social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The senators are concerned that Mulvaney’s large following among minors may have violated the Beer Institute’s marketing guidelines.

The Controversy Surrounding Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney

Bud Light recently sent Mulvaney a beer can with his likeness, causing widespread controversy. The senators believe that Anheuser-Busch’s failure to exercise appropriate due diligence when selecting online influencers for its marketing efforts warrants detailed oversight by Congress.

• Mulvaney has 10.8 million followers on TikTok and 1.8 million followers on Instagram
• He has videos in which he shopped for Barbie dolls in a Target store, dressed as a small child, and handed out merchandise to teenage girls at a mall
• The senators believe that Mulvaney’s content presents a faux, pre-pubescent girl persona that is created and presented to specifically appeal to young viewers

Comparisons to Cigarette Marketing Campaigns

The senators compared the Bud Light and Mulvaney partnership to the “discredited and now illegal marketing campaigns of cigarette manufacturers that used youth-favored advertising tools such as ‘Joe Camel’ in an attempt to develop early brand loyalty with children who were legally prohibited from smoking cigarettes.”

Guidelines from the Beer Institute

The Beer Institute’s guidelines state that companies should only seek to advertise on digital media platforms where at least roughly three-quarters of users are “adults of legal drinking age.”

Continued Backlash and Declining Sales

Market data indicate that weekly sales for Bud Light have continued to decline by nearly 25% relative to the same periods last year several weeks after the initial backlash, even as other Anheuser-Busch brands which took hits could be starting to recover from the controversy.

Executives for Anheuser-Busch have downplayed the extent of the partnership and hired veteran Republican lobbyists in various efforts to win back conservatives who once consumed the brew. The company meanwhile seems to have offended those on both ends of the political spectrum: leftists and owners of gay bars across the country threatened to launch additional boycotts after the firm backed away from Mulvaney.

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