Anheuser-Busch (AB) is giving away free beer to distributors after a promotion with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney caused a boycott of its Bud Light brand.. Budweiser Factory .Distributors said they have had a significant drop in sales since the Mulvaney promotion, according to the Wall Street Journal..AB said it would make new advertisements and spend additional marketing money to promote Bud Light to help sales and fix any problems with the distributors..The actions were taken after a month-long controversy and a boycott caused a decrease in Bud Light sales..On April 1, a transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney uploaded an Instagram video showing Bud Light cans with its picture on them..Some customers were unhappy about the transgender promotion, which started a boycott against Bud Light and AB led by conservatives..According to data from Bump Williams Consulting and Nielsen, Bud Light sales dropped by 21% year over year for the week ending on April 22..READ MORE Bud Light sales now down 21% after partnering with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.Using the same data, Bud Light’s competitors, Coors Light and Miller Light, had a sales increase of almost 18%..Mulvaney talked about the criticism she received on the “Onward with Rosie O’Donnell” podcast..“I think it comes back to the fact that these people, they don't understand me, and anything that I do or say somehow gets taken out of context and is used against me,” said Mulvaney..Last week, Mulvaney shared a TikTok video where it talked about being offline for a few weeks and made an indirect comment about the recent Bud Light boycott..“I think it's OK to be frustrated with someone or confused, but what I'm struggling to understand is the need to dehumanize and to be cruel,” said Mulvaney..READ MORE Anheuser-Busch CEO addresses Bud Light backlash over transgender partnership. Alissa HeinerscheidAlissa Heinerscheid .On April 14, AB CEO Brendan Whitworth released a statement which 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.”.After the boycott, Bud Light Vice President of Marketing Alissa Heinerscheid and AB Vice President of Marketing Daniel Blake took leaves of absence..Budweiser Global Vice President Todd Allen took over Heinerscheid’s position as the new vice president of marketing for Bud Light.
