“Inclusive” Marketing of Bud Light, and How Did It Become So Controversial?

In the second half of March 2023, one of the biggest beer brands, Bud Light, promoted a new campaign targeting certain people: LGBTQ+. Bud Light have put trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney forward upon their campaign and have implemented a new edition with a rainbow cover representing the LGBTQ community. This campaign has aroused a boycott from some groups of people, especially from the right-winged people. The Bud Light Vice President, Alissa Heinerscheid, asserted that the sense of “inclusivity” was necessary to achieve the brand’s evolution and elevation. Among the tension and boycotts between different groups, some experts suggest that inclusive advertising is effective apart from the controversies surrounding the issue. To give an encapsulation of the response of consumers, there are two representative groups: LGBTQ+ and right-wing people. Some of the right winged consumers have strongly shown their discontent with the new campaign. They have uploaded a video showing their objection by shooting the Bud Light beer or throwing the beer out in the sink. Their displeasure is getting aggressive and has aggravated the tension among the public sentiment about the campaign. The consumers did not simply feel disagreement or displeasure with the campaign but further felt a sense of betrayal and quoted "In Bud Light's effort to be inclusive, they excluded almost everybody else, including their traditional audience” (Byrne). The rage and the boycott did not stop but got bigger and the criticism and condemnation turned faces to the influencer Dylan Mulvaney, the trans activist. The partnership between Mulvaney and Bud Light

Gaining a positive left media reputation over the original customers; has been controversial but it can be considered successful marketing. Despite of backlash about the campaign from conservative customers, some experts claim that Bud Light’s marketing was successful, in fact, it is lucrative for business. The consumer’s response creates a doubtful point on account of a large number of people in opposition, and the boycott. However, Bud Light was not the only company that has tried LGBTQ marketing. LGBTQ marketing has been popular and highly effective in terms of admitting the excluded community as a member of society and attracting them as consumers. Converse, Youtube, M&M and so many other companies have shown successful LGBTQ marketing and their responses were positive. However, Bud Light’s advertisement is notable for the extreme anti-trans backlash when it is compared to the other companies that also have used LGBTQ marketing.

Targeting a certain group of consumers are a typical and common marketing tactic over years. Nonetheless, when it becomes a political issue, people become unrestrained and reveal hate. Likewise, the controversy surrounding Bud Light’s marketing strategy has resulted in the same consequences: conflict between two different groups with different political states. The constant blaming and hostility towards the different political groups have to come to an end.