The backlash against Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney campaign is still raging on as the beer brand’s parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev has now seen more than $6 billion wiped from its value over the controversy.
On April 1, Bud Light unveiled its new campaign featuring 26-year-old Dylan Mulvaney as its brand ambassador.
Unfortunately for Anheuser-Busch, the campaign wasn’t an April Fool’s prank and the company’s financial losses are no joke.
In the days leading up to the announcement, shares for the Belgium-based brewer had been trading around $66.
The company had been on a roll and had regained Covid-era losses to return to a high not seen since before the pandemic.
Then Bud Light dropped its new “woke” campaign with transgender Mulvaney.
As the market closed Wednesday, the beer giant’s stock was trading at roughly $63.
The figure accounts for more than a 5 percent decrease in Anheuser-Busch’s total share value – a concept more commonly known as “market capitalization.”
Six days ago, the company’s market capitalization six days ago stood at $132.38 billion.
Currently, the market cap is $125.73 billion, meaning a staggering $6.65B has now been wiped from the company’s value.
Despite the devastating losses, Bud Light is standing by its campaign with Mulvaney, a man who dresses in women’s clothing.
To coincide with its partnership with Mulvaney, Bud Light also unveiled promotional cans of the beer featuring his face on the side.
Detractors such as Kid Rock –Â who filmed himself shooting several cases of the best-selling beer in defiance – are now accusing the brand of pandering to the progressive left.
Some have taken credit for the recent drop in Anheuser-Busch’s value, while others have aired their disapproval of Mulvaney being the new face of the brand on social media.
Amid this outcry, Bud Light’s parent company was forced to issue a formal statement saying it supported Bud Light’s decision to work with Mulvaney.
Mulvaney ballooned to Internet stardom with a series of videos documenting himself dressing up as a “woman.”
Before he started identifying as transgender on TikTok, Mulvaney was unheard of.
“Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics,” the rep said in a statement shared with several outlets last week.
“From time to time, we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Mulvaney.
“This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.”
The company’s doubling down, however, only served to enrage customers more – and likely played some part in Anheuser-Busch’s recent market woes, which for the most part began at the start of the month.
Incidentally, the first day of trading in April was April 3 – two days after the Mulvaney partnership was formally announced.
