Beer Drinkers Support Brand Partnerships With Trans Spokespeople
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After weeks of conservative backlash and boycotts against Anheuser-Busch InBev SA’s Bud Light for partnering with a transgender influencer, it turns out the marketers behind the brand’s campaign likely understand its market of beer drinkers better than their detractors do, according to a new Morning Consult survey.
On April 1, trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted a video to Instagram to promote a March Madness contest in partnership with Bud Light, the top-selling beer brand in the United States. The ad ignited a firestorm of online backlash and boycott calls from right-wing social media users and prominent Republican figures, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and musician Kid Rock, who filmed himself shooting several cases of Bud Light with a rifle.
After nearly two weeks of silence, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth released a statement, noting that the brand “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.” The statement did not make a direct reference to the anti-trans sentiment driving the controversy, which led some LGBTQ+ advocates to also call to boycott the brand, for not sufficiently defending its partnership with Mulvaney.
The brewer has since placed two marketing executives responsible for the collaboration on leave, creating another round of discourse about the value and risks of purpose-driven marketing strategies — particularly those that aim to support diversity and inclusion.
Per the Morning Consult survey, which was conducted about two weeks after the backlash began, a majority (53%) of beer drinkers in the United States say they would feel favorable toward a brand that works with a transgender spokesperson, compared with 47% of U.S. adults overall who said the same. Beer consumers were also more favorable toward this type of marketing partnership than were beauty, entertainment, pharmaceutical and auto consumers.
The survey also offered a demographic profile of Americans who said they drink beer at least once a month, which constitutes just over one-third of all U.S. adults. Monthly beer drinkers lean more Democratic and younger than those who said they do not drink beer at all, suggesting that the Bud Light controversy may not materially impact its brand long-term.
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