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Social Media Marketing
Bud Light’s New Advert Met With Backlash On Social Media
24
Jun
Jun
ARCO, ID APRIL 21, A sign disparaging Bud Light Beer is seen on a country highway. … [+]
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“Bud Light insults its remaining customers by implying that they’re idiots,” wrote one conservative commentator on TwitterAnheuser Busch InBev’s new advertisement, released on Thursday, prompted a response. This new beer brand ad featured individuals who were dealing with sunburn, storms, screen doors, etc., while listening to the 70’s disco song “Good Times” from Chic.
Todd Allen, Bud Light’s vice president of marketing, released a statement that said: “Bud Light’s ‘Easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy,’ platform was launched at the Super Bowl. Now, we’re extending this message by launching our new Easy to Summer commercial to launch summer,”
Allen continued, “Bud Light has been ready to deliver easy enjoyment for our 21+ customers for all their best backyard summer moments this summer.”
Bud Light Not Expecting The Reaction They May Have Expected
Since it was published, the minute-long advertisement has received nearly 120,000 hits. The initial comment section was turned off. While it’s now on, the sampling shows that this ad didn’t work to bring back the majority of people.
I’ll guess that all women drinking Bud Lights are bossy girl bosses while the men are incompetent idiots. Nailed it!!! Another reader suggested that we alienate even more our core consumers by making them look incompetent.
Another said: “This advert is incredible in that it demonstrates Bud Light doesn’t even know its customers.” It is imperative that they hire a marketing professional with blue collar experience as soon as possible before the point where there’s no turning back.
The Babylon Bee also mocked it on Twitter. The majority of over 1,700 comments also poked fun.
Bud Light has not responded to a second request for comments.
Backlash continues
Bud Light continues to try and move past the controversial advertisement that featured transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light faced a firestorm of criticism, which caused the company to distance itself from the campaign—and that only caused a further backlash from the LGBTQ+ community.
Bud Light sales fell dramatically, and Modelo Especial, a beer from Constellation Brands, was named America’s most popular beer in May. Anheuser-Busch stock was even downgraded by financial analysts.
This latest ad was meant as a reset for the brand, but it is already clear that it isn’t just too little, too late—it is only further inflaming the audience.
Scott Steinberg, a social media expert who specializes in brand marketing, said that they would have done better to maintain a lower profile and allow this situation to blow out more. There is merit in being proactive. “The company tried to deal with the social media crises, but that didn’t work.”
Bud Light’s current target audience isn’t clear.
Steinberg said that the company had been “swinging too much in both directions”. The first thing they should have done was to take a balanced approach. It may be that this is a brand new beginning, but it’s not the right time for consumers.
Create a New Market
Bud Light was not alone when it came to having to navigate the waters of a nation that is deeply divided, where there is no way to please everyone all the time.
Steinberg explained that any company who tries new things is taking a chance. If they didn’t take the risk, they would be criticized for being too old or stale. “In this case, Bud Light didn’t understand how that influencer campaign would be received by their established audience—and it was simply too much, too soon.”
The influencer campaign was only possible because social media reached so many people, and this is why there’s a strong backlash.
Steinberg stated that “everything gets amplified by social media.” “It really doesn’t take that much for something to go viral—for good and bad. Bud Light went too far, and then responded too quickly when it got a pushback. It’s sometimes better to use a lighter hand.”
The new campaign “Easy to Summer”, which was intended to be a playful touch, is now showing that at least on social media it’s easy to mock.
