Anheuser-Busch just wanted to sell more beer.
The company wasn't making a grand statement supporting transgender rights or LGBTQ+ causes when it hired social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Instead, the beer company wanted to leverage the transgender social media star's audience to sell Bud Light to a community that presumably has not been reached by Anheuser-Busch's (BUD) -) traditional advertising mix of Americana, low-brow humor, and bikini models.
Kid Rock and the right-wing country music stars who have made boycotting the brand a passion project (although Rock was too lazy to actually remove Bud Light from his bar) probably aren't actually as outraged as they're acting either. It's hard to believe that people would abandon their favorite beer just because someone whose lifestyle they disagree with was hired to post about it on social media.
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Boycotts and social outrage, however, are really good marketing ploys. For the price of an iPhone, a few cases of Bud Light, and some ammunition, Rock got to reconnect with his base. That's what Travis Tritt, John Rich, and every other country singer are doing when they join the boycott and it's smart because it simply reinforces what people already think of those performers.
Rock, Tritt, and Rich have already lost any fans who believe in tolerance and acceptance, so being outraged by a media campaign that used a transgender woman will only gain them a tighter bond with their base. That's where Bud Light, Jason Aldean, and Ron DeSantis all went wrong in the same way.
They misjudged their audience (at least some of them) and that has led to a backlash that has seen Bud Light sales tumble, Aldean get kicked off some music outlets, and DeSantis look very unlikely to win the Republican nomination.
Bud Light Misjudged Its Core
Bud Light thought it could hire Mulvaney and continue marketing to its core audience in the same way it always has. That has proven to be a misjudgment, but not a total failure. The beer brand has lost roughly a quarter of its audience (somewhere between 25% and 28% depending upon the week) since the Mulvaney scandal.
That means that while the brand has dropped from its perch as the top-selling beer, it has not fallen off a cliff. Anheuser-Busch made a marketing decision to expand its base without realizing that would enrage some of its existing customers.
Ron DeSantis did roughly the same thing when he opted to make Walt Disney (DIS) -) his top enemy in his so-called "war on woke." By saying that the Mouse House sexualizes children and pointing out its support of LGBTQ+ employees and theme park visitors, the Florida Governor does appeal to a certain part of the Republican party.
The right-wing candidate for president, however, misjudged the electorate. Enough Republican voters see his Disney campaign as political theater and a bad business move. It's not very Republican to go after a business for the choices it makes in the pursuit of profits.
DeSantis' act has played well in his home state but it's failing on the national stage where he's an also-ran in the race for president.
Aldean Was Trying to Sell Records
Aldean was marketing too with "Try That In a Small Town." He knew exactly what message picking a site famous for the lynching of an African American man and using footage of riots for the video would send.
He wanted to reach the segment of the country audience that wouldn't be against the idea of shooting someone for a petty crime in a small town. The singer wasn't calling for violence, he was giving his audience a song that tied into their worldview.
The mistake in Aldean's case may not actually hurt him. CMT dropped his video and there has been some backlash, but sales are strong and the song is a hit. Aldean has limited his ability to become a bigger star, but he has ensured his stardom with his current base.
Only Garth Brooks, of anyone who has been in the news for the Bud Light scandal, seems to truly understand how to be as big as possible. His message was basically "everyone is welcome at my bar except a**holes."
Some critics have made that sound like Brooks was calling people who boycott Bud Light or have issues with accepting LGBTQ+ a**holes, but that criticism has mostly failed. Really, the singer, was simply welcoming the biggest audience possible into his bar by telling them they can believe what they want, but let everyone have fun while their in his house.
