Dylan Mulvaney: Beer Buying And Legal Drinking Age

In April 2023, transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney partnered with Bud Light for a social media marketing campaign. The collaboration sparked a boycott of the beer brand by right-wing anti-trans groups, which resulted in a steep drop in sales.

Dylan Mulvaney's Bud Light sponsorship

In April 2023, Bud Light, the American lager produced by brewing giant Anheuser-Busch, partnered with transgender activist and social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The collaboration was part of Bud Light's "Easy Carry Contest", which encouraged customers to upload videos of themselves carrying as many cans of beer as possible for a chance to win $15,000. Mulvaney, who has gained a massive following on TikTok and Instagram for documenting her gender transition, posted a sponsored video in which she appeared in an Audrey Hepburn outfit, poking fun at March Madness. To celebrate the one-year anniversary of Mulvaney's transition, Anheuser-Busch also sent her a personalised can of Bud Light featuring her face and the message, "Cheers to 365 Days of Being a Woman".

The partnership sparked immediate backlash from right-wing and anti-trans groups, who called for a boycott of the brand. The controversy escalated when conservative figures like Kid Rock and former NFL player Trae Waynes filmed themselves shooting or smashing cans of Bud Light, and right-wing influencers flooded social media with calls for a boycott. The boycott even extended to Republican politicians like Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis, and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The backlash against the Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney collaboration was intense and had significant repercussions for both parties. Anheuser-Busch faced steep sales declines, with Bud Light's US retail store sales falling by 21.4% in the week following the controversy. The company's leadership was criticised for its handling of the situation, with some accusing them of failing to support Mulvaney adequately. Two executives involved in the campaign, Alissa Heinerscheid and Daniel Blake, were placed on leave.

Mulvaney, for her part, faced intense harassment and transphobic abuse online. In an Instagram video posted in late April, she spoke about the "bullying and transphobia" she had endured and expressed her disappointment that Bud Light had not reached out to her during this difficult time.

The fallout from the Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light partnership highlights the challenges that companies can face when their marketing campaigns become polarising. It also underscores the ongoing culture war surrounding transgender rights in the United States and the intense backlash that can arise when companies are perceived as taking a stand on social issues.

Kid Rock's violent response

Kid Rock's response to Bud Light's collaboration with Dylan Mulvaney was to post a video of himself shooting up several cases of the beer with an assault rifle. The video, which went viral, was posted to his social media accounts and has been viewed over 2 million times. In the video, Kid Rock wears a baseball cap with the acronym "MAGA" (Make America Great Again) and delivers an expletive-laden message to the beer brand and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch.

Kid Rock's actions can be seen in the context of a wider debate about the inclusion of transgender women in female spaces and issues. The collaboration between Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer and TikTok star, sparked calls for a boycott of the brand and its parent company. This incident is not an isolated one, as chocolate maker Hershey's also faced a similar backlash for featuring a transgender rights activist in a Canadian ad campaign for International Women's Day.

Anheuser-Busch's response

Anheuser-Busch's initial response to the backlash was to characterise its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney as one of many that allow the brand to "authentically connect with audiences across various demographics and passion points". The company also clarified that the can featuring Mulvaney's face was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and was not for sale to the general public.

However, as the controversy escalated, Anheuser-Busch's response became more subdued. In a statement, the company's CEO, Brendan Whitworth, said: "We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer." Whitworth's statement did not directly address the controversy or show support for Mulvaney, and two Anheuser-Busch marketing executives were placed on leave following the backlash.

In late May, Anheuser-Busch donated $200,000 to the Communities of Color Initiative under the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, and in an interview in June, Whitworth emphasised the company's political neutrality while pleading with boycotters not to punish the company's employees.

The boycott's impact on sales

The boycott of Bud Light in response to Dylan Mulvaney's involvement in a marketing campaign for the brand appears to have had a significant impact on sales.

In the immediate aftermath of the boycott, Bud Light's sales fell sharply. In the week ending April 22, Bud Light's U.S. retail-store sales fell by 21.4% compared to the same period the previous year, while sales of rival brands Coors Light and Miller Lite grew by a similar amount. Two weeks after Mulvaney's sponsored post, Bud Light's year-on-year sales had dropped by 17%.

The boycott also contributed to a broader decline in sales for Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light. In the second quarter of 2023, the company noted a 10.5% decline in U.S. revenue. In the four weeks ending in early September, Bud Light sales were down 27% year on year.

The boycott also had a personal and professional impact on Dylan Mulvaney. In an Instagram video posted in late June, Mulvaney said that she had endured "bullying and transphobia" and felt afraid to leave her home due to stalking. She also expressed disappointment in Bud Light's lack of public support during the controversy, stating that "for a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all."

The boycott's effects extended beyond Bud Light, with some conservatives using it as a rallying cry to target other companies perceived as embracing "woke" or progressive values. Target, for example, faced a backlash and decline in revenues due to its Pride collection, which included LGBTQ+-positive children's apparel.

Despite the boycott's impact on sales and the leadership changes it prompted, Anheuser-Busch has continued to face criticism for its handling of the situation. Some former employees and LGBTQ+ advocates have accused the company of failing to stand by its values and support Mulvaney during the backlash.

The ad agency's role

The ad agency responsible for the partnership between Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light was Captiv8, an eight-year-old marketing firm based in San Francisco. Captiv8 is a top California-based influencer marketing agency that pairs social media influencers with major consumer brands. The agency has previously worked with Walmart, American Express, Twitter, and KraftHeinz.

Captiv8 introduced Anheuser-Busch to the 26-year-old transgender actress, resulting in a viral TikTok video that sparked a nationwide boycott of the brand. The video, posted on April 1, 2023, showed Mulvaney holding a Bud Light can while taking a bubble bath. The video was part of a sponsored campaign celebrating the end of March Madness and Mulvaney's "365 days of girlhood" series on TikTok, which documented her gender transition.

The backlash to the campaign was swift and brutal, with high-profile right-wing figures such as Ben Shapiro, Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis, and Marjorie Taylor Greene joining in the outrage. The controversy also led to threats of violence, with Kid Rock posting a video of himself shooting up cases of Bud Light, and death threats against Alissa Heinerscheid, the vice president of marketing for Bud Light.

In the wake of the backlash, Captiv8 went into "serious panic mode," according to sources. The agency's co-founder and CEO, Krishna Subramanian, did not respond to requests for comment. Anheuser-Busch also remained tight-lipped on the origins of the campaign, but placed Heinerscheid and her boss, Daniel Blake, on leave in April. The company also fired the "third-party" ad agency, Captiv8, that was behind the Mulvaney video.

The partnership between Mulvaney and Bud Light was intended to be part of a larger initiative by the beer brand to "evolve" its marketing strategy and become more "inclusive." However, the campaign backfired, resulting in a sharp decline in sales for Bud Light and negative publicity for both the brand and the ad agency.

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