Anheuser-Busch CMO: Mulvaney a Mistake, Bud Light ‘Coming Back’

Marcel Marcondes, the Global Chief Marketing Officer of Anheuser-Busch, acknowledged on Monday that the backlash concerning Bud Light’s collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney served as a “wake-up call” for the company.

In March, Bud Light faced significant boycotts due to their partnership with Mulvaney. As a result, the company’s sales declined. Marcondes spoke to the controversy on Monday at the Cannes Lions Festival, telling Ad Age, “It’s tough to see the controversial and divisive debates that have been happening in the U.S. in the last couple of weeks involving lots of brands and companies, including and especially Bud Light. It’s tough exactly because what we do is all about bringing people together.”

“In times like this, when things get divisive and controversial so easily, I think it’s an important wake-up call to all of us marketers first of all to be very humble. That’s what we’re doing, being very humble, and really reminding ourselves of what we should do best every day, which is to really understand our consumers. Which is to really celebrate and appreciate every consumer that loves our brands — but in a way that can make them be together, not apart,” the marketing exec continued.

Marcondes then insisted that the beer and beverage company would be campaigning around the country to reconnect with its customer base.

“That’s what Bud Light stands for — it exists to make beer easy to drink and easy to enjoy. That’s what we all, as a team, will be doing moving forward as a group. That’s what leaders do. Bud Light is coming back. It’s going all around the country, reconnecting with consumers, moving forward. That’s what you can expect from Bud Light in the U.S.”

The word from Marcondes comes as Bud Light attempts to repair its relationships with distributors by providing financial assistance for those impacted by the plummeting beer sales.

“The company,” CNN’s Jordan Valinsky writes, “plans to provide financial assistance to its wholesalers, reimburse fuel for distributors’ trucks and launch a new ad campaign for Bud Light.”

In a statement, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said last Thursday his company recognizes “that over the last two months, the discussion surrounding our company and Bud Light has moved away from beer, and this has impacted our consumers, our business partners, and our employees. As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best — brewing great beer and earning our place in moments that matter to you.”