AB In Bev said that its growth had been ‘constrained’ after a huge boycott of its beers following a controversy with a transgender model.
The world’s largest brewer said the number of its drinks sold fell 1.7 per cent in 2023 after American shoppers turned their backs on its Bud Light beer.
Sales in North America took a hit of 15.3 per cent after transgender social media influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, posted an advert for Bud Light on Instagram.
Mulvaney had been sent a personalised can as part of a promotional campaign.
While dressed as the character Holly Golightly, from the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Mulvaney said she was celebrating ‘day 365 of womanhood’, after having transitioned.
Boycott: AB InBev said the number of its drinks sold fell 1.7% in 2023 after American shoppers turned their backs on its Bud Light beer
That led to Right-wing groups calling for a boycott of the brand, accusing AB Inbev of ‘corporate wokeism’.
For decades, Bud Light had been the go-to beer for ordinary Americans, mainly selling to suburban families and blue collar workers.
But marketing bosses’ bid to refresh its appeal and entice younger, more diverse customers, backfired.
Bud Light lost its spot as America’s biggest selling beer, and was replaced by Mexican beer Modelo Especial, also made by AB Inbev.
Former presidential candidate and Florida governor Ron DeSantis was an outspoken critic and country singer Kid Rock even filmed himself shooting three cases of the lager with a submachine gun, while wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ cap, and screaming expletives at the beer.
And the LGBTQ+ community felt the brewer had failed to stand up for Mulvaney and transgender people in the face of hate.
This led to some gay bars also boycotting the beer and other AB Inbev brands like Stella Artois.
For some Americans, ‘let’s give them the Bud Light treatment’ has become shorthand to start boycotts of firms over ‘woke’ policies or inclusive marketing.
