The dramatic fall of Bud Light from its perch among the elite beer brands of America continued over the weekend as it fell out of the top 10 most popular beers, according to a new survey by YouGov.
The Anheuser-Busch staple of backyard gatherings and summer barbecues has fallen to 15th most preferred among Americans, falling behind other competitors like Pabst Blue Ribbon, Miller Genuine Draft, and Miller Lite. Others falling into the top 10 were Guinness, Heineken, Corona, Samuel Adams, and Blue Moon, Fox News reports.
The pilsner brand has seen sales plummet since April when its former vice president for marketing green-lit a social media partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, producing a can with Mulvaney’s face emblazoned on the front in a baldfaced attempt to win over liberal millennials. The latest poll shows that while 56 percent of the younger generation holds a favorable view of Bud Light, Gen X and Baby Boomers hold overwhelmingly negative views; its popularity among these groups sits at just 36 percent and 33 percent, respectively.
Alissa Heinerscheid, the brand’s former vice president for marketing, was fired late last month for her attempt to shift the beer away from its blue-collar, “fratty” base of beer drinkers and towards younger, more “inclusive” audiences. The termination came after Bud Light bent over backward to offer camo-printed cans and free beer to its customers, a move that came too little, too late as sales tanked and hundreds were laid off by distributors who lost work as a result of the decline. The brand and its ad agency are in “serious panic mode” as they continue to search for a way out of the ruckus.
Success by conservative activists in boycotting Bud Light has led to similar rallies against retailers like Target and Kohl’s as well as professional sports teams including the L.A. Dodgers for taking “woke” stances that activists say are antithetical to their audiences. Over the July 4th holiday, liberal Vermont-based ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s was torched for encouraging the United States to give back its land to Native Americans, starting with Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills of South Dakota.
