CAMP VERDE, Ariz.—The idyllic setting is the American heartland as the morning sun peeks above a misty golden wheat field when suddenly, a lone Clydesdale horse comes galloping in—bold, majestic, and exuding strength and determination.
The narrator for the new Budweiser beer commercial is a middle-aged male, his voice gritty and self-assured.
“Let me tell you a story about a beer rooted in the heart of America,” the new ad begins.
“Found in a community where a handshake is a sure contract. Brewed for those who found opportunity in challenge and hope in tomorrow.”
Then comes the kicker.
“This is a story bigger than beer,” the ad says. “This is the story of the American spirit.”
The one-minute commercial is pure Americana. Its target audience: patriotic working-class beer drinkers moored in traditional values and culture.
The ad features a familiar Budweiser Clydesdale—the historic corporate marketing symbol of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the maker of the “King of Beers.”
However, the image contrasts sharply with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, whose partnership with sister brew Bud Light has become a national controversy.
Is This Bud for You?
“I think the person should be fired that put that ad in,” said Ron Tackett, seated at the bar with an open can of Bud Light at VFW Post 6739 in Camp Verde, Arizona, on April 17.Tackett said he’s been drinking Bud Light for the past 30 years. He likes the taste and smooth texture and especially likes the company’s stunning Clydesdale draft horses that have appeared in Super Bowl commercials.
The fictional Budweiser brand mascot Spuds MacKenzie (a bull terrier) was a hoot back in the day, Tackett noted; he wishes Anheuser-Busch would make similar ads.
He thinks the new Budweiser ad could be too little, too late, although he appreciates the patriotic message.
“They should go back to their horse commercials that everybody loves,” Tackett told The Epoch Times.
“What percentage are transvestites that you want to reach out to in this country? Budweiser supposedly is an American beer. If this keeps going on, I will stop drinking [Bud Light].”
Most of all, he feels that Anheuser-Busch should “get back to reality” with consumers.
Behind the bar, beverage server Susan said the transgender controversy has made many loyal Bud Light drinkers switch to other popular brands.
“We’ve gone through so much Coors Light and Miller Light in three days that we ran out and had to call to get an extra order in,” she said. “They’re not ordering it. That’s basically it. They put politics into beer.”
Anheuser-Busch is now working to repair the damage after losing billions in share value because of the Mulvaney controversy.
“I think they’ve opened a Pandora’s Box,” said Susan, who doesn’t think one pro-America beer commercial will change anyone’s mind.
“I think you’ve done enough damage if you’re trying to push something along when it doesn’t even need to be done.
“They had the Clydesdales, and it was all about America. Why not keep it that way? In this case, I think it will hurt them.”
Other patrons at the bar had no comment or thought questioning Anheuser-Busch’s marketing choices was “hurting” Bud Light.
At Low Places Bar and Grill in Camp Verde, manager Kelsie said Bud Light sales have dropped since the transgender dispute erupted.
Contradictory Messages
In viewing the new Budweiser ad, Kelsie said the pro-America message seems contradictory when placed against a transgender Bud Light brand ambassador.“Bud Light and Budweiser are obviously from the same company,” she said. “They’re contradicting each other for sure with that commercial. They both need to find one way and go that way.”
Kelsie also thinks the damage to Bud Light’s image could be permanent.
“They split their audience,” she said. “It is not something they can fix. [Customers] switch to Coors Light.”
A cashier at Top Shelf Liquor in Camp Verde said most of her complaints about Bud Light are from people who “don’t even drink Bud Light.”
“I honestly don’t feel that a man’s going to tell me what kind of beer to drink—especially a man posing as a woman,” she said.
“But I’m not a beer drinker, so it’s hard to have an opinion on a product that doesn’t affect me at all.”
Nothing Beats a Bud?
While most bars served specialty or craft beers, one package store cashier said people are still buying Bud Light and thought the political controversy was “ridiculous.”At Flagstaff VFW Post 1709, bartender Kathy said Bud Light remains the leading seller on tap, despite the nationwide boycott.
“To each his own. I’m neither for nor against,” she said.
“Some veterans don’t agree with them doing that but are not boycotting their products. I didn’t even hear about it until they brought it up. It hasn’t swayed people” for the most part.
Still, people said, “Wow, I can’t believe they did that,” Kathy told The Epoch Times.
Since the backlash began, Molson Coors, the Canadian American maker of Coors Light, surged by 9 percent in stock value as of April 17.
On two consecutive days, Molson Coors rose by nearly 2 percent.
Opportunity Knocks
A startup company has launched what it calls “Conservative Dads Ultra Right Beer” in recent weeks in direct response to Anheuser-Busch’s decision to work with a transgender brand representative.“They think middle America is stupid,” co-owner Seth Weathers of Georgia said. “The ‘woke’ gods own them. They will not say a negative word” about the transgender issue.
Regarding Budweiser’s new beer commercial, Weathers considers it a “lame attempt” by Anheuser-Busch to make Bud Light consumers forget about their corporate politics.
“I think it’s time for someone willing to take a stand on issues considered off-limits by corporate America,” he said.
Since the official launch on April 5, Weathers has received “thousands upon thousands” of pre-orders in the past two weeks with a 30-day delivery timeline. He says demand is growing fast and should ensure a market presence in all 50 states.
“If this continues, [Anheuser-Busch] will end up losing. That’s why this has to be a forever boycott. There is no forgiveness,” he said. “Theirs is probably the greatest marketing blunder of all time. Ours is probably the greatest return on that investment.”
Weathers said he and his business partner found a family-owned brewery on short notice and hired a legal team. He said the fledgling company is off to an unprecedented start and has even received death threats from people opposed to Ultra Right.
Weathers promotes his new beer on YouTube, rejecting Anheuser-Busch’s “woke” agenda without identifying the company.
“America has been drinking a beer from a company that doesn’t even know which restroom to use,” Weathers says in the ad.
He then swings a baseball bat, demolishing a tall blue can of Bud Light in a shower of suds.
People don’t get excited about apple juice; they do get excited about beer, he said.
“It’s not even about the product for me,” Weathers said. “It’s about the mission we’re trying to accomplish here. If people stick to it, this will be a turning point for conservatives.
“It’s sending a statement. All I’m trying to do is sell beer and refuse to say a man can be a woman and a woman can be a man. It’s pretty simple.”
