Bud Light is officially no longer one of the top 10 ranked beers in the United States, according to a new survey.
The beer, which has regularly been one of the most beloved and widely drunk in the US, has seen popularity plummet following a conservative boycott in reaction to a partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Brewer Anheuser-Busch drew criticism from multiple right-wing personalities, including an AR-15 toting Kid Rock, who took it upon himself to destroy several cases of the beer he had presumably paid for, with an assault rifle. Perfectly normal behaviour, I'm sure you will agree.
Since the partnership with Mulvaney, which saw the influencer post a series of videos earlier this year as part of Budweiser's March Madness campaign, Anheuser-Busch's market value has reportedly dropped by $27bn, with two executives taking a leave of absence.
Mulvaney shared images and videos of herself drinking from a personalised can of the beer, celebrating year since her transitioning. But the campaign didn't just enrage conservatives. Liberal drinkers were also driven away from the beer due to their belief that the brewery didn't stand by Mulvaney in the wake of the right-wing backlash against her.
For the survey, YouGov polled a nationally representative sample of 1,468 Americans during the second quarter of this year. Guinness, Corona and Heineken proved to be the most popular beers, generating approval from 58%, 53% and 51% of drinkers respectively. In the second quarter of 2023, 42% of Americans liked Bud Light. This is equal to how many Americans liked it in the second quarter of 2022.
However, due to the rise in popularity of other beers, Bud Light has been forced into 15th place. So while its popularity is still on a par with last year, more Americans are looking to other beers to drink in 2023.
Mulvaney only recently broke her silence on the backlash to her involvement in the campaign, taking to social media to lambast Anheuser-Busch for not properly standing by her when abuse was being hurled her way every day online as a result of the campaign.
"I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did. I've been scared to leave my house. For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse than not hiring a trans person at all.
"I have been ridiculed in public I've been followed and I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn't wish on anyone."
Recent Budweiser sales figures have shown that Bud Light sold 27.9% less than the same period in 2022 for the week ending June 24. Its worst decline on record came the week before, which saw a 28.5% drop.
Modelo sales, meanwhile, have been skyrocketing. Modelo Especial's distribution is actually also controlled by Bud Light parent Anheuser-Busch but its US operations are owned by Constellation Brands, which reported an 11% increase in sales for the second quarter of 2023.
