Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch is reportedly blaming a “third-party ad agency” for the brand’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney that prompted nationwide boycotts and cost them roughly $5 billion in losses.
In an attempt to distance from the deepening backlash, Anheuser-Busch has reportedly told U.S. beer distributors that it cut ties with the “third-party ad agency” responsible for the Mulvaney collaboration in an effort to make amends with vendors weary over the brand’s tarnished reputation, according to a source cited by the New York Post.
The brewing giant reportedly sent a letter to hesitant distributors saying it has fired the marketing firm responsible for the polarizing sponsorship which began last month when Mulvaney, a transgender TikTok influencer, revealed that she was sent a can of Bud Light with her face printed on it as part of an ad for the beer company’s March Madness contest and as a way to celebrate a full year of “girlhood.”
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Bud Light continues to face backlash more than a month after its polarizing pact with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney prompted outrage. (Getty)
In the letter, Anheuser-Busch reportedly claimed that the beer can at the center of the controversy with Mulvaney’s face was not produced by the Belgian-based company or in any of its facilities, blaming the ad agency entirely for the collaboration, distributors told The New York Post.
“Ad agencies send out hundreds of influencer kits a year, some of which have a customized can included. This was one of those situations,” a Texas-based Bud Light distributor told the outlet.
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The beer brand did not disclose the name of the marketing agency responsible, The Post reported.
The headquarters of Anheuser-Busch, Inc. is seen June 26, 2008 in St. Louis, Missouri. …
