During a recent interview with the podcast “Make Yourself At Home” Bud Light marketing VP Alissa Heinerscheid explains how, when she arrived at the beer giant, she set out to change the brand’s “fratty,” “out-of-touch” humor.
“We had this hangover, I mean Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach,” she said in the interview.
That “other approach” likely resulted in the controversial partnership with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney.
“I’m a businesswoman, I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a decline for a really long time, and if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand there will be no future for Bud Light,‘” Heinerscheid said.
Watch the clip above.
From Fox News:
Heinerscheid’s comments have gone viral days later, after Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch received backlash for partnering with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. The beer maker ignited a firestorm earlier this month when it celebrated Mulvaney’s “365 Days of Girlhood,” by sending Mulvaney custom-made cans featuring the influencer’s face. Mulvaney said the cans were her “most prized possession” on Instagram with a post featuring “#budlightpartner.” A video then featured Mulvaney in a bathtub drinking a Bud Light beer as part of the campaign.
After the host asked Heinerscheid about how her background, perspective, and values impacted the Bud Light brand, the Bud Light vice president said, “I’m a businesswoman, I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a decline for a really long time, and if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand there will be no future for Bud Light.’”
She added further that she had a “super clear” mandate that “to evolve and elevate this incredibly iconic brand.” She said that what she “brought” to the brand was a “belief” that to evolve and elevate means to incorporate “inclusivity, it means shifting the tone, it means having a campaign that’s truly inclusive, and feels lighter and brighter and different, and appeals to women and to men.”
Conservative media personality Clay Travis blasted the clip on Twitter, saying “When are brands going to stop paying people tens of millions of dollars who have no clue what their audience wants? These people legit destroy brands. These are the same people @espn & @disney have hired too. They are totally lost.”
When are brands going to stop paying people tens of millions of dollars who have no clue what their audience wants? These people legit destroy brands. These are the same people @espn & @disney have hired too. They are totally lost.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) April 9, 2023
More over at Fox News:
Bud Light's marketing VP says she was inspired to update 'fratty,' 'out of touch' branding with inclusivity https://t.co/Zwely8VJAN
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 10, 2023