ANHEUSER-BUSCH KNOWS WHAT IT HAS TO DO TO MAKE THE PAIN STOP:
Bud Light fell into the same trap that many other brands fall into, thinking that the leftist perspective is the reigning perspective in our culture and, as such, allowed a woman who had no business being in charge of marketing for Bud Light in the first place to do something that Americans are clearly insulted by.
The CEO can claim “misinformation” about what’s going on and have confidence about the brand’s recovery all day. This isn’t just a reaction to “one can” with “one influencer” on it. This boycott is now a movement, and it doesn’t seem to be losing steam, at least not yet.
A-B is going to bear this scare for a very, very long time but it can begin the healing process by simply apologizing for what it did. It should come out and tell Americans that it’s sorry that it even gave the time of day to such a divisive influencer who represents something that is hurting people everywhere. It needs to come out and vow to never do it again.
What it chooses to do to make that apology seem more concrete is up to it, but no matter how you swing it, it needs to begin with “we’re sorry.”
The issue is that getting this apology will be like trying to pull a tooth from a very awake badger. While A-B’s customer base primarily consists of red-blooded Americans, they are afraid of the leftist machine just like every other corporation is. Apologizing for putting Mulvaney on the can will be a very loud choosing of sides and once they do, they can kiss their ESG score goodbye. This would be financially damaging to them in a very big way as various investment institutions that prioritize ESG obedience will suddenly not be interested in giving them the time of day.
If an Anheuser-Busch spokesman apologizes, the brand will take a brief, but huge hit on social media from the leftist mob — who don’t drink Bud Light, anyway — but the mob will quickly move on to something else to be angry about. In the meantime, as John Ekdahl tweets, “The biggest problem isn’t even the boycott; it’s that they’ve become a cultural punchline. This is now like having an AOL email address or driving a minivan. People avoid it so their buddies don’t rip them. Not sure how you fix that as a brand.”
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