Rita Panahi: Australian corporates, including professional sporting bodies, should be wary of the fallout from the Bud Light saga

The brewing giant thought it could push LGBTQI activism masquerading as “diversity and inclusion” but what actually happened was devastating reputational damage.

Beer brand Bud Light has learned the hard way that the adage “go woke, go broke” isn’t just a cute line but can quickly become a brutal economic reality.

That’s something for Australian corporates, including professional sporting bodies, to keep in mind as they contemplate involving their brands in the highly contentious and divisive “Voice” debate.

Bud Light, the dominant market leader in the US, has had a horror six weeks after indulging in some reckless corporate virtue-signalling. The company thought it could push LGBTQI activism masquerading as “diversity and inclusion” which would endear it to the Left and increase the brand’s appeal in new markets.

What actually happened was devastating reputational damage coupled with plummeting sales and market value. After initially defending the decision to use trans activist Dylan Mulvaney as a Bud Light ambassador, arguing that the partnership would help to “authentically connect with audiences”, Bud Light brewer Anheuser-Busch – which also makes its full-strength stablemate Budweiser – tried to backtrack madly, but the damage was done.

Trans activist Dylan Mulvaney was used as a Bud Light ambassador.

Within weeks Anheuser-Busch had lost $7.4bn in value as beer drinkers boycotted the brand en masse. The disastrous sales figures have endured.

The damage is so profound that this week financial giant HSBC advised clients not to purchase stock in the beer brand’s parent company because of the “Bud Light crisis”.

It said: “Management’s response to it and the loss of unprecedented volume and brand relevance raises many questions.” HBSC stock analyst Carlos Laboy, who downgraded stock in the parent company, wrote: “Why did its US leadership underestimate the risk of pushback given the recent experience of other firms? Is A-B hiring the best people to grow the brands and gauge risk? If Budweiser and Bud Light are iconic American ideas that have long brought consumers together, why did these marketers fail to invite new consumers without alienating the core base of the firm’s largest brand?”

Kid Rock was among those to make his feelings clear on the Bud Light saga.

And that is precisely what happened. In its eagerness to show its “progressive” credentials, the brewer alienated its customer base and made its brand a laughing stock. Teaming up with controversial trans activist Mulvaney – a clownish figure who appears to mock womanhood and has monetised his transition to “girlhood” – was always going to end in tears, but the company’s woke marketing executives were blind to the risk. They have now been placed on leave, perhaps permanently.

Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth published a long statement that seemed apologetic but did not contain the words “sorry” or “apology”. That was a mistake. As was the company’s effort to redeem itself in the eyes of customers by releasing a cringe-worthy ad that pushed every pro-America cliche. No one was buying it.

However, boycotting Bud Light has caused conflict among conservative ranks, with many prominent centre-right folk from Caitlyn Jenner to Donald Trump Jnr urging consumers to stop the boycott and support what has been a good employer and corporate citizen. “I’m not for destroying an American, an iconic, company for something like this,” Trump Jnr said.

Bud Light teaming up with a controversial trans activist was always going to end in tears. Picture: AFP

But those calls have fallen on deaf ears. Conservatives are sick of handing over their hard-earned to companies that do not share their values and indeed sometimes openly rail against those values.

We saw that phenomenon with the Disney company last year, and Bud Light again demonstrates the danger of toying with political issues that have nothing to do with a company’s core product or service.

For too long, corporates operated under the misapprehension that their Leftist politicking was a cost-free exercise. That is no longer the case. Author and filmmaker Matt Walsh has labelled the backlash against Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch as the most impactful conservative boycott in modern history, and has urged consumers to repeat the behaviour with other companies that promote far Left political or social views.

“We have devastated Bud Light with this boycott,” he wrote. “The great thing is that this was completely grassroots. Many prominent Republicans were actively against the boycott.”

Bud Light’s woes should serve as a warning to Australian corporates who think their political activism will not lead to a consumer backlash.

Insulting or annoying a significant portion of your market is a foolhardy exercise.

Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist