HSBC has downgraded the stock of Anheuser-Busch to a “hold” status after the company continues to suffer from a consumer boycott over the Bud Light partnership with a cringy TikTok celebrity, Dylan Mulvaney.
Mulvaney, a man who has appeared on social media sites as a pubescent girl, was highlighted with his face on the cans of Bud Light in April, in celebration of his “one year of being a girl.” Ads featuring Mulvaney in bubble bath surrounded by cans of beer that had his face on it infuriated the Bud Light consumers, who wanted nothing to do with the pretend-a-gender wars.
HSBC’s rating advises not to buy or sell shares of AB InBev until the company recovers from its sales having cratered in recent weeks. According to Carlos Laboy, managing director for the global beverage sector of HSBC, AB InBev has done a poor job of responding to the crisis in confidence in its brand.
HSBC Holdings is a British multinational bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets, and serves 39 million customers through its global wealth, personal banking, commercial banking and global banking.
Sales of Bud Light were down 23.4% year over year for the week of April 29, according to data from NielsenIQ, a consumer analytics firm, and Bump Williams Consulting. That meant Bud Light sales dropped to $71.6 million that week.
Other A-B brands are being affected: Michelob Ultra was off 4.4%, to $60.2 million.
At the same time, competitor beer brands saw growth in sales: Coors Light was up 20.3%, to $56.7 million, while Miller Lite was up 20.6%, to $49.2 million.
“It’s not just a Bud Light issue,” Bump Consulting CEO Bump Williams told the New York Post. “It’s an Anheuser-Busch portfolio problem now.”
While some bars have pulled the Bud Light products from their offerings, the company has attempted to walk back its mistake. So far, consumers have not been in a forgiving mood — according to the data.
The AB InBev stock price was $66.57 at the beginning of April, as the Dylan Mulvaney partnership was revealed. Today’s closing price was $61.81.
BlackRock gonna buy em cheap.
Watching your portfolio tank or Dylan Mulvaney… which sucks the most?
The message? Get woke, go Broke!
Well, duh.
Insult your core market and much of America by teaming up with a man who pretends to be an underage/
teenage girl.
Less than a week after a trans shot children in a school?
What could have possibly gone wrong?
Its good to see men stand up for something. Their advertising team has their work cut out for them to make amends with the regulars. Just like Norm from Cheers men are still particular who touches his Beer
Contrary to the statement in the article that AB/InBev has “attempted to walk back its mistake,” I have not seen much effort at all. Instead, the CEO tried to say something pathetically “inclusive” in an effort not to offend anyone. It came nowhere near an apology. Absent a really clear “we screwed up and apologize to Americans” statement, I will not buy AB/InBev products in the future. They have killed the mystique of the Budweiser brand. I am not saying it was great beer but it was part of America. No longer. AB/InBev’s Modolo and Corona are better guzzle beers but I am going to have to move to an alternative. There are many. (Notice to wokesters and the young: Just because you went to Harvard – as Ms. Heinerscheid did – doesn’t mean you are smarter than other people.)
The statement was basically “we’re sorry you got offended by our brilliant marketing campaign”.
Beer rots the brain. Most that stopped drinking Bud, won’t even remember in another month, what the fuss was all about. If the self-admitted and liable sexual assaulter, djt, started drinking Bud, and advertising for them, there is no doubt, Bud’s sales would skyrocket. Better woke, than morally broke. Drink up, cancel culture clowns.
….and this ladies and gentlemen is how you do a protest. No screaming or picketing, just simply saying “No thanks” and go somewhere else. This will be taught in marketing school for a long time. AHB totally misread their customers, who simply want to drink beer with their buddies, not a lecture on current political correctness.
Dylan Mulvaney needs to now turn his attention to promoting Nugenix Total – T.
Of course, have him end a commercial by using Frank Thomas’s classy line,
“She’ll like it too!”
Budweiser has always been a mediocre beer. Raised in Wisconsin with great local brews like Point, Leinenkugels, Old Style, Pabst et al, that St Louis swill never sold much in the upper Midwest anyway.
Let’s not forget Hamm’s.
Yeah, where exactly is that land of sky blue water anyway?
Corporations will need to decide whether they want ESG points and alienate their consumer base or stick to their roots. In AB’s case, you can’t do both.
I was all for the “three Cs”; Captain Morgan, Crown Royal and Corona. Now? Reckon, it will be just Captain and Crown. Not that I am big consumer of any. But, does anyone know of a good Corona alternative? On hot day a good Corona like beer???
We need more of this action. The company’s that don’t think conservatives matter need to be shown to the door. We control the country with our dwindling buying power and we can make or brake a corporation.
Who drinks bud light?
FAFO
Ms. Heinerscheid literally screwed up advertising BEER! I never thought that would be possible. Before this all came about, all you had to do to get people to drink your beer was open a cooler but Ms Heinei couldn’t even do that. I can imagine all the memes popping up with her applying for advertising jobs, lol.
Bud and Bud light were the #1 & #2 selling beers in the world when InBev bought them out.
This won’t be over until we see Kid Rock drinking a Bud Light.
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