Bud Light Sales Collapse Over July 4th Holiday
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
JAMES LYNCHREPORTER
July 17, 202310:03 AM ET
Bud Light sales suffered a major decline over the July 4th holiday weekend as the boycott against the brand continues, industry data shows.
Bud Light sales plunged by 23.6% in the one week period ending July 8th compared to 2022 levels, according to Nielsen IQ dollar sales data provided to the Daily Caller by Bump Williams Consulting. In the four week period ending July 8th, Bud Light sales dropped by 27.1% as the consumer boycott against Bud Light continues. (RELATED: Anheuser-Busch Accepts Creative Marketing Award Announced Shortly Before Bud Light Boycott Began)
Budweiser, another Anheuser-Busch brand, saw a 6.6% drop in sales in the week ending July 8th and a 10.7% drop in the four week period ending July 8th, the sales data shows. Rival beer brands Coors Light and Miller Lite had a 30.2% and 25.3% sales increase in the week ending July 8th. Modelo Especial had a 20.7% uptick in sales for the same time period.
The boycott against Bud Light began in early April after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted advertisements on social media to promote the brand. Mulvaney, a biological male who identifies as a transgender female, was sent customized beer cans by Bud Light to celebrate one year of being transgender.
Conservatives accused Bud Light of promoting transgender ideology by partnering with Mulvaney, who previously interviewed President Joe Biden about his support for transgender procedures for minors. (RELATED: Some Beer Distributors Believe Bud Light Boycott Could Be Permanent, Surveys Say)
The Bud Light boycott was intensified by unearthed comments from Bud Light marketing executive Alissa Heinerscheid where she trashed the brand’s “fratty” and “out of touch” image. Heinerscheid and another marketing executive were later fired for the Mulvaney partnership, the Daily Caller first reported.
Anheuser-Busch is trying to win customers back with a summer marketing campaign featuring NFL stars, concerts, giveaways and the “Bud Knight” mascot. The company’s U.S. CEO Brendan Whitworth refused to say in a late June interview whether it was a mistake for Bud Light to partner with Mulvaney.
The transgender influencer accused Anheuser-Busch of abandonment after the Bud Light boycott began. Anheuser-Busch responded to Mulvaney by restating its commitment to the LGBT community.
