The senior marketing executive for Bud Light, who oversaw the contentious Dylan Mulvaney ad campaign, has taken a leave of absence. This development comes amid backlash over the decision of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the largest beer maker in the world, to partner with actor and transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney to promote its popular beer brand Bud Light. Budweiser global marketing VP Todd Allen will replace Alissa Heinerscheid as the vice president of marketing for Bud Light. It is, however, unclear whether Alissa Heinerscheid who joined Bud Light in June last year has been replaced permanently or for a limited time period.
Bud Light began its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney by sending the social media personality, who started to transition from male to female in 2021, custom cans featuring her face, to commemorate her being a woman for over a year. On April 2, Mulvaney uploaded a sponsored Instagram post about Bud Light’s March Madness contest.
“Happy March Madness!! Just found out this had to do with sports and not just saying it’s a crazy month! In celebration of this sports thing @budlight is giving you the chance to win $15,000! Share a video with #EasyCarryContest for a chance to win!! Good luck! #budlightpartner,” Mulvaney wrote in the caption of the said post.
The brewing company also gifted Mulvaney cans with her face on them to commemorate her 365 days of ‘womanhood’.
This, however, did not go down well with many, and soon an outrage erupted with a significant number of people boycotting Bud Light and slamming the brand for its collaboration with Mulvaney. The people boycotting the brand say that the brand is forgetting its target demographics and is going ‘woke’ and veering towards the left.
Several celebrities also joined in the outrage. American singer-musician Kid Rock joined the online protests and boycott calls as he posted a video on his Twitter account in which he can be seen shooting a stack of Bud Light cans with a rifle.
In the video, Kid Rock said, “Let me say something to all of you and be as clear and concise as possible Rock then opens fire on the beer cans and continues “F*** Bud Light. And f*** Anheuser-Busch.”
— KidRock (@KidRock) April 4, 2023
Other than Kid Rock, American singer Travis Tritt also decided to boycott Anheuser-Busch products. “I will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider. I know many other artists who are doing the same,” Tritt tweeted.
I will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider. I know many other artists who are doing the same.
— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) April 5, 2023
“Corporate America, are you paying attention? One woke marketing employee named Alissa Heinerscheid wiped out customer loyalty to a major brand. Go woke, go broke,” Conservative Radio host Erick Erickson tweeted.
Corporate America, are you paying attention? One woke marketing employee named Alissa Heinerscheid wiped out customer loyalty to a major brand. Go woke, go broke.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) April 22, 2023
Several other people also joined in the boycott calls as the controversy continued to grow.
alissa gordon heinerscheid is why I'm #BoycottBudLight. pic.twitter.com/ymqhxtEoPi
— Mezz (@BlockchainOrbit) April 6, 2023
Don't just boycott Bud Light
— Henry Makow (@HenryMakow) April 14, 2023
Buttwiper's Other Products pic.twitter.com/ZO3siKVXkL
Heinerscheid’s campaign to make Bud Light ‘inclusive’
Interestingly, Heinerscheid in a recent podcast “Make Yourself At Home” talked about transforming the “fratty” image of Bud Light to a more ‘inclusive’ beer company.
“I’m a businesswoman, and I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a decline for a really long time, and if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand there will be no future for Bud Light,'” Heinerscheid said on the podcast.
Alissa Heinerscheid, Bud Light’s VP of Marketing, doubles down on her extreme woke strategy to promote the “declining” American beer brand to “young people”, while smearing her former customers as “fratty and out of touch”.
— Old Row (@OldRowOfficial) April 9, 2023
How’s that working out for you, lady? @budlight pic.twitter.com/zNYKbMnZnu
She claimed to have fostered “belief” in the brand that, in order to progress and elevate, a campaign must be truly inclusive, have a lighter, brighter, and more distinctive vibe, and appeal to both women and men.
From defending the move to issuing a half-hearted apology, how Bud Light reacted to the backlash
Initially, Bud Light defended its decision to collaborate with the trans-rights activist as its brand influencer amidst allegations of spreading gender propaganda. Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, told Fox News in response to the criticism that it “works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics and passion points.”
However, CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev Brendan Whitworth stated, “We never intended to be a part of a discussion that divides people,” in a statement released on April 15. “We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer”, the statement added.
— Anheuser-Busch (@AnheuserBusch) April 14, 2023
Dylan Mulvaney’s collaboration with Nike to promote Sports Bra
Dylan Mulvaney enjoys a massive following across social media platforms and has over 11 million followers on TikTok and 1.8 million followers on Instagram. Mulvaney’s “365 Days of Girlhood” TikTok series, in which she documents her transition, has drawn sponsorship from other well-known companies, such as Nike. In an Instagram post, Mulvaney announced a collaboration with Nike, the popular sportswear brand to promote their sports bra.
Following the announcement, Nike also encountered severe backlash for ignoring women from its target market and handing the job to a “biological man”. British reality TV personality Oli London slammed Nike Women for “slapping women in the face by mocking them and paying a man to take their place.”
Meet NIKE WOMEN’S Newest Ambassador…a biological man.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 5, 2023
Dylan Mulvaney is now being paid 💰by Nike Women to promote sports bras- even though he’s a man!
Another day, another company slapping all women in the face by mocking them and paying a man to take their place! #nike… pic.twitter.com/XK33HJYo63
While popular internet personality Oli London and many others criticized the Nike and Dylan Malvaney collaboration, the company defended its decision in an Instagram comment the company dropped on one of its posts.
“You are an essential component to the success of your community! We welcome comments that contribute to a positive and constructive discussion: Be kind… Be inclusive… Encourage each other… Hate speech, bullying, or other behaviors that are not in the spirit of a diverse and inclusive community will be deleted,” Nike wrote on Instagram.
