A Bud Light neon sign hangs in the window of a store in New York, New York. (Photo by Robert ... [+]
Inclusive marketing campaigns never fail to “trigger” right-wing culture warriors, and the relentless, obsessive hostility is growing increasingly desperate, particularly the ongoing backlash to Bud Light.
What Bud Light Backlash?
Bud Light recently partnered with trans activist and popular TikTok creator Dylan Mulvany (boasting 10.8 million followers), who revealed that Anheuser-Busch had sent her a can of Bud Light with her face on it, and promoted the beer on her social media.
Partnering with social media stars is what brands do, for obvious reasons, but the innocuous ad sparked a collective tantrum from the conservative media sphere, as right-wing culture warriors threatened to boycott the brand forever, and uploaded videos of themselves tossing cans of Bug Light into the trash, pouring the beer down drains, and even using Bud Light cans for target practice.
A viral video showing a steamroller driving over thousands of cases of Bud Light was heralded by conservatives and mocked by progressives, but the video (posted in February) had nothing to do with Mulvany’s Bud Light partnership. The video did exemplify the state of the culture war, with conservatives using cans of Bud Light as props for performative destruction.
Singer Kid Rock filmed himself shooting at cases of Bud Light with a semi-automatic rifle, concluding his performance by facing the camera and telling his audience, “F— Bud Light, and f— Anheuser-Busch.”
Singer Travis Tritt posted a tweet declaring that he would remove all of Anheuser-Busch’s products from his tour hospitality rider, and claimed to know many other artists “who are doing the same.”
Referring to the two offended singers, radio host Howard Stern expressed confusion, asking: “Why do you care so much?”
Stern went on to say, “I’m not bothered by gay people or transsexual people. They don’t impact my life, they don’t hurt my life. I love when people are in love. You wanna be a woman? Be a woman. You wanna be a dude, be a dude. Be whatever you f—ing want. As long as you ain’t hurting anybody, I’m on your team.”
Despite the right-wing tendency to paint inclusive marketing campaigns as out-of-touch and alienating, Stern’s “live and let live” attitude reflects how the majority of consumers view such campaigns.
Rolling Stone recently published a deep dive into progressive marketing campaigns that sparked right-wing backlash, and concluded that “go woke, go broke” is a myth; as expected, multi-billion dollar corporations are not risking their profits for the sake of diversity, but are simply attempting to expand their customer base.
Days after the Bud Light backlash, Mulvaney shared a paid partnership post on Instagram where she wears a pair of Nike Women’s leggings and sports bra, which resulted in another surge of transphobic hatred.
Mulvany responded to the backlash on TikTok with her trademark cheery optimism, writing: “Thank you all for making me feel supported, I am not alone.”
This certainly isn’t the first time that an inclusive marketing campaign has offended right-wingers; ads for Gillette, M&Ms and Mr. Potato Head all sparked a similar backlash, likely amplifying the brands to new heights of cultural relevance.
A screenshot of a Bud Light fan declaring his indifference to the controversy went viral on Twitter, because it was so poorly worded (containing a slur), and yet, oddly supportive. The screenshot illustrated how most people just don't have the time, energy or inclination to obsess over trans people.
Indeed, the incessant “anti-woke” backlash is beginning to appear increasingly desperate.
An odd fellowship of anti-trans activists have united against the Bud Light “controversy,” such as Caitlyn Jenner, a trans woman who has competed in women's sports, Oli London, who has undergone multiple plastic surgery operations in an attempt to look Korean, and “anti-woke” author Bethany Mandel, who recently went viral after being unable to define “woke.”
Seasoned anti-trans culture warriors, such as Matt Walsh and Ben Shapiro, expressed predictable, performative outrage at Bud Light. Both men post about genitalia, pronouns and chromosomes to an alarming degree; is the subject really that interesting?
Inclusive advertising is simply capitalism in action, an attempt to appeal to broad demographics, and right-wing backlash only seems to boost such campaigns.
Howard Stern put it best when he asked, “Why do you care so much?”
