Senior executives at Bud Light parent company Anheuser-Busch were reportedly not informed about the company’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, with one source claiming the move “was a mistake.”
Earlier this month, Mulvaney revealed a partnership with Bud Light, sharing an image of a personalized beer can depicting Mulvaney’s face. In the days that followed, a spokesperson for the company confirmed the partnership stating Mulvaney was just one of “hundreds of influencers” the company worked with in order to “authentically connect” with consumers.
“From time to time, we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public,” the spokesperson continued.
An unnamed source for the company has revealed however that “no one at the senior level” of the company approved the partnership with Mulvaney, which has seen the company lose roughly $6 billion since the announcement, according to a report by the Daily Wire.
As I’ve been digging into this, I’m finding this to be 100% true@AnheuserBusch has donated far more to GOP candidates than Dems, and FAR more than woke @MolsonCoors.
Looks like the Dylan Mulvaney campaign was not approved by senior execs.
Heads should roll. https://t.co/e301ZF2vDU
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) April 6, 2023
Citing two unnamed sources close to the situation, the Wire reported that the decision to sign with Mulvaney was made by a low-level employee.
“Some low-level marketing staffer who helps manage the hundreds of influencer engagements they do must have thought it was no big deal. Obviously it was, and it’s a shame because they have a well-earned reputation for just being America’s beer — not a political company. It was a mistake,” one unnamed source told the Daily Wire.
A second source reportedly told the outlet Anheuser-Busch would likely implement a more “robust” procedure for evaluating partnerships to “avoid another public relations nightmare.”
These claims support claims that conservative activist Rogan O’Handley, better known by his Twitter handle DC Draino, tweeted on April 6, alleging that an Anheuser-Busch insider revealed to him that senior executives were “angry” at the partnership.
OpenSecrets reveals that employees at Anheuser-Busch are overwhelmingly conservative, donating more to Republican candidates than to Democrats. The company itself donates to both Republican and Democratic candidates, but in 2022 the company’s donations favored Republicans, the outlet stated.
As backlash to the Mulvaney partnership went viral, video surfaced of Alissa Heinerscheid, Bud Light’s vice president of marketing, trashing the brand as “fratty” and “out of touch.” (RELATED: Bud Light Sold Out To The DEI Agenda Long Before Dylan Mulvaney)
“Like we need to evolve and elevate this incredibly iconic brand. And what I brought to that was a belief in ok what does evolve and elevate mean? It means inclusivity, it means shifting the tone. It means having a campaign that’s truly inclusive and feels lighter and brighter and appeals to women and to men. And representation is sort of at the heart of evolution,” Heinerscheid stated.