As the fallout for Bud Light continues, a video of the brand’s marketing VP talking about her intention to update the product’s “fratty” and “out of touch” image and replace it with “inclusivity” started making the rounds on social media.
Alissa Heinerscheid did an interview with the podcast “Make Yourself At Home” on March 23. In it, the marketing exec talked about her goals for revamping the Bud Light brand image. This was just prior to customers finding out about Bud Light entering a brand partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, which led to calls for boycotts.
Meet Alissa Heinerscheid, Bud Light’s VP of Marketing. She explains her strategy of using “inclusive” marketing to promote the brand to young people.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) April 9, 2023
The beer brand helped celebrate the anniversary of Mulvaney’s “365 Days of Girlhood” by sending the influencer a custom-made can featuring Mulvaney’s face. The TikTok star also posted several ads to Instagram, which included the hashtag “#budlightpartner.”
“I’m a businesswoman, 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 during the interview.
She went on to describe that she had a “super clear” mandate “to evolve and elevate this incredibly iconic brand.” Heinerscheid said she aimed to incorporate “inclusivity, it means shifting the tone, it means having a campaign that’s truly inclusive, and feels lighter and brighter and different, and appeals to women and to men.”
“Representation is sort of at the heart of evolution, you have got to see people who reflect you in the work,” the marketing exec continued. “We had this hangover, I mean Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach.”
Fans reacted strongly to the ads with Mulvaney, with some prominent names calling for boycotts. Kid Rock posted a video showing himself shooting cases of Bud Light while bar owner and country music star John Rich tweeted, “What beer should my bar [Redneck Riviera] in Nashville replace #BudLight with?”
Meanwhile, Bud Light has remained silent on social media since the backlash began on April 1. Their only response so far has been a statement issued to Fox News Digital on April 3.
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“Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics. From time to time we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public,” an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson told the outlet.