The Bud Light hangover continues to reverberate on North American beer sales after its Belgian-based parent company, InBev, reported lower third quarter results.Although the world’s largest brewer reported 5% higher global revenues, US sales tumbled 13.5% “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light,” it said in a statement.It comes after its controversial tie-up with transgender rights activist Dylan Mulvaney in April saw the brand fall from its position as America’s best-selling beer for more than two decades to second spot behind Mexican brand Modelo Especiale. Modelo now enjoys 9% market share compared to Bud Light’s 8%.The Mulvaney debacle saw American beer drinkers abandon the brand in droves. Musician Kid Rock went as far as to shoot up crates of Bud Light cans with an assault rifle..And the fallout is continuing. According to data compiled by alcohol industry consultants Bump Williams, US dollar sales of the once-popular suds were down almost 30% in October compared to a year ago and about 19% for the full year to date.In an attempt to stop the leakage, the UFC announced last week the biggest marketing deal in its history, aimed at shoring up its image among male — and presumably heterosexual — consumers that is reportedly worth more than USD$1 billion.It’s the first time Bud Light has been an official sponsor in more than 15 years.That prompted InBev CEO Michel Doukeris to suggest Bud Light drinkers are ready to come back to the fold."I could not be more excited about joining or rejoining UFC on this comeback and to have Bud Light in the US for the fans and Budweiser being activated globally," Doukeris said on a conference call with analysts.
