Bobby Burack
Videos by OutKick
Bud Light is not the only beer brand to prioritize appeasing its critics over satisfying its base of mostly American men.
In March, Miller Lite introduced a marketing campaign that hoped to atone for the beer industry’s past treatment of women. The initiative didn’t garner much attention at the time, though has re-emerged as a viral sensation Monday.
In the ad, the brand criticizes the industry for putting the “founding mothers of beer” in bikinis. Miller Lite says it was women who first brewed beer and thus ought to be honored, not sexualized.
Here’s the campaign:
“To honor this we wanted to acknowledge the missteps in representation of women in beer advertising by cleaning up not just our $#!T, but the whole industry’s $#!T while benefiting the future of women and beer.”
At least Miller Lite honors women, whereas Bud Light honors “women.”
(Well, actually the latter honors “girls,” a group in which the 27-year-old -Dylan Mulvaney includes himself.)
Still, the initiative shows how out of touch marketing departments are. Imagine working for a beer company and writing an ad chastising brands for promoting women in bikinis.
As Tudor Dixon argued last week, beers brands actually need to revert back to hot chicks in bikinis:
.@TudorDixon advises Budweiser: "Bring back hot chicks in bikinis!”
— The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show (@clayandbuck) May 12, 2023
Tudor's Podcast: https://t.co/RHXasWkc6Q#ClayAndBuck #ClayTravis #BuckSexton #TudorDixon #BudLight #Marketing @bucksexton @claytravis pic.twitter.com/fERsvjiz9Y
Dixon, unlike the marketing teams at Miller Lite and Bud Light, understands the consumer base for said brands.
They like hot chicks; not women feigning grievance.
Bud Light sales
Thereby the virality of the Miller Lite campaign is no small development. Sure, it’s months after the fact. But that may not stop beer buyers from responding.
Bud Light’s fiasco proves beer drinkers do not respond kindly to the politicization of their beverages.
The market cap for Anheuser-Busch has declined by some $5 billion since its partnership with Mulvaney.
In April, volumes of Bud Light declined 21.4% while parent company Anheuser-Busch recorded a fall of over 12%.
The common man still controls the marketplace. It’s their buying habits that determine success or lack thereof. Corporations that irk them often suffer erosion.
We discussed in a column last week:
The government, media apparatus, and so-called influencers control the message. But the common man controls the results.
Corporations across America often neglect their customer base in favor of public relations. They mistake status for success.
Miller Lite chose status by honoring the oversexualized “founding mothers of beer.”
Is there any change this is satire?
I’m certain the execs at MillerCoors have NO idea how huge the backlash against Bud is. Most of these people live in their own little ivory tower bubbles surrounded by yes men, only worried about their ESG scores and if their gated community neighbors like them.
Bobby, I’m going to keep it a buck fifty, I don’t think people could give a flying f**k that miller is giving women money to make more beer. That’s more beer for me to drink, and if a woman makes it, I don’t give a s**t. This isn’t anything like what Bud Light did, go back to drinking those Bobby. Miller is a friend of mine!
— GBF
You misgendered Dylan… It’s herself not “himself”. She’s a woman. Those who have no idea what we go through think it’s ok to misgender us. More men seem to have issues and hate for Transgender women. I fear for these women. I’m a transgender man and don’t get as much hate as Trans women do and that scares me for trans women safety. I think men are afraid they will find a Trans woman attractive and freak out because they’re not secure.
Do you really believe that the pushback against the transgender fad is because normal people are afraid of being attracted to you? Really? That’s the only reason? Doesn’t possibly have anything to do with your own behavior?
I think this is just as bad, if not worse than the Bud Light fiasco. They’re telling us that they believe the girls in bikinis ads were horrible, and anyone who likes them is horrible too. I disagree. It’s completely normal (and good) to have girls in bikinis on beer ads. The world sure was a lot happier and friendlier when we did. Oh, and someone let them know that having women swear in ads isn’t as “cool” as they think it is. Yeah, yeah, women can use swear words too. Yawn. No more Miller for me. Yuengling wins again.
Yeungling is the better beer, but we all know you’re a closeted bud light fan.