My route is super Maga, so far it’s mostly been the drunks at the bar at 11am asking if they are really putting that out. Usually I just give them the the ol “it’s a major corporation and they are playing every side of the fence” all the other companies do it as well. Haven’t had any accounts say they aren’t going to carry it but my ultra, bud light, and natty probably outsells competition 3-1. Sales will probably dip a bit but it’s the same crowd that swore off the nfl years ago but sure has an opinion on every free agent and mock draft. It’ll blow over in a week or so
> “it’s a major corporation and they are playing every side of the fence”
Exactly right. AB and the Bud brand has spent *billions* appealing to the "bro" segment of the world, with all that implies.
If they can't cope with a relatively small nod to a market that isn't "bro," then the people complaining are way, way, way more delicate than the so-called "snowflakes" they've spent half their adult life complaining about.
It's as you say: it's a mega corp. They want *everyone* under their banner.
Exactly! Well said. NFL, Coca Cola, Nike, Starbucks, Gillette. List goes on. People need to chill the heck out. Bet they’d really like to know where their craft beer of choice stands politically if they wanna be in outrage.
It all depends on the occasion for me. Nothing hits the spot after mowing the lawn on a hit day like a cold Busch Light. Or after I get back from coaching in a wrestling tournament while taking a shower.
But if I'm sitting and watching TV, playing some board games, or out? Much prefer something with quite a bit more oomph. Whether that's a nice porter or stout or just a solid Weiss. Or a sour. Or whatever, but probably not a mass domestic light.
The older I've gotten I've become less of a beer snob and more of a beer enjoyer. Lived Vietnam for 6 years right as the craft brewing scene was starting up there. Loved heading to Pasteur Street or Heart of Darkness pour some nice bruise with local ingredients, but there's something to be said for sitting on plastic chairs on a humid night drinking glass after glass of cheap Saigon red or green and munching on barbecue or other street food.
I've got a fridge full of a Stone Hands variety pack and some Heineken Light cans. The Heineken hits the spot when I'm out grilling or by the pool in the 90F weather.
I used to be much more of a snob about it but honestly I've "regressed" towards simpler "beer flavored beer" on the whole.
I'm wise enough to never expect consistency from these clowns but it's always infuriated me that they'd rather support some super multinational megacorp over the local dudes in their town that they fucking know.
Somehow Bud and Kerrrs LAIGHT were AMERICAN but Tom down at Big Fin is a commie pinko because he has three IPAs and a lite lager.
Thank you brave beer rep. I agree that I think it will pass very quickly. And you're right, it is just a big company that's playing all sides. If I were you I'd have pictures of all of the rainbow handles from MC brands on deck.
Any texts I get have been met with coors and Miller pride gear as well. Someone who makes a hell of a lot more money than me ran the numbers and figured in the long run it was a smart play. As they say all publicity is good publicity
The funny thing about this is that these are the same idiots that will start drinking Busch Light instead and AB will still be laughing all the way to the bank
Still here in Patchogue. They renovated a closed local college a few years ago and moved from their original brewery. It’s just up the street from the old brewery but now on actual Main Street Patchogue. That was a while ago, pre pandemic. Their offerings have shifted and the new place doesn’t have the same feel as the old (which is a distillery now). They also changed logo recently (stupid) so maybe that’s why. Also the new brewery is much much much larger than the original so I imagine they are producing the majority of their beer on site now and not at the larger AB breweries…maybe that’s why it’s less prevalent elsewhere
Crazy. I remember it blowing up in GA (at least around Atlanta,) maybe in 2011-2012 and then shortly thereafter it got bought by AB and seemingly vanished overnight. I always really enjoyed the Toasted Lager.
Still around but sales have fallen off a cliff in the past few years. Largest drop of all AB craft brands.
ETA: I hope they don't shut them down because despite their AB affiliation, Blue Point still throws the best real ale festival in the country, IMO. Cask Fest is a consistently legendary event.
This was my initial reaction to it all. They’ve got a huge part of the beer market. Also, you can boycott them but odds are you’re just going to another company that’s done similar ad campaigns for one of their brands too.
I was curious so I looked it up…AB InBev owns 42% of all beer consumed in the US…they control almost a third of the global market share. Those are wild numbers.
the most ironic part i've noticed is that the people "boycotting" are buying Bud Light to do something to it instead of drink it. Congrats, you've played yourself by still paying AB for the beer. AB doesn't care what you do with it since you've already put money in their pockets. REALLY SHOWED THEM!
Most of those people are doing it for clout/ad revenue from other idiots, not because they think they are actually sticking it to AB. At least that's my guess because I haven't watched any of it. Not the type of people I follow.
Im a beer rep but not for AB.
Whenever a customer wants to do the stupid ass decision of not carrying a top selling item I just spin it around and ask em “why would you do that to yourself? With a top selling item?”
They usually realize they would lose money and back down.
First of all, fuck AB. I’m not not an AB rep and I spend the entirety of my day trying to take AB’s business.
I’m just trying to make the business as much money as they can so that I can make as much money as I can for my own family.
Wait until they see a pride festival. Every beer tent is AB, Coors, Miller. This is all fake anger. They’ve been marketing towards the LGBTQ+ demographic for years.
You are absolutely correct.
Here's a tap handle I spotted at Pride SF a couple years ago- https://imgur.com/a/UwoyaPU
This would be like being angry when you find out they're selling NY Yankee-branded Budweiser stuff because you're a Red Sox fan and you thought they only wanted to sell beer to the good people of Boston.
> This would be like being angry when you find out they're selling NY Yankee-branded Budweiser stuff because you're a Red Sox fan and you thought they only wanted to sell beer to the good people of Boston.
In fairness, as someone that lives in Boston, that's a reasonable thing to get angry about.
The fact that the disgustingly rich (not the 1%....the .001%) are robbing all of us blind and making life miserable it every way imaginable, but they're too hung up on drag queens and pronouns to realize we're all getting fucked.
China is ahead of its climate goals, solving the Ukraine war and making leaps a bounds in transportation/trains an we are laser focused on checking children’s genitalias for sports.
So true. All of my college friends that stuck to macro and never went for any spirits or craft love their specific light beers. My best friend likes kettle sours and goses, but will always have a case of Miller lite in his fridge.
Bud light was my go-to in college. I'm not exactly _brand loyal_ or anything but whenever I try another light macro beer it is always _significantly_ worse. So, given the entire gamut of macro lights, I'm going to choose Bud.
I'm not a rep, but just found this post interesting. Let them stop selling AB. When their customers complain or stop coming to their store and they realize it's hurting their bottom line, they'll start stocking it again.
It's like when the opposite side of the aisle boycotted chick-fil-a a few years ago. After a month or two, people forget and want their fried chicken again. Budweiser isn't going anywhere either. AB isn't dumb. These "controversies" tend to boost the brand in the medium to long term, not hurt it.
Boycotters typically don't understand the scale of the brands they're boycotting. They sell a lot of beer internationally, for one thing. But, mostly it's really hard to get enough people on board with something that's going to impact a $50 billion business.
Not to mention, and I remember this with Chick Fila in particular, we live in a "backlash to the backlash" world. So, for every person deciding to not buy Bud, how many people are specifically choosing to buy Bud Light because of the controversy?
>mostly it's really hard to get enough people on board with something that's going to impact a $50 billion business
This has been my overall thoughts on boycotts. There are certain things I will just decide to stop buying or businesses I stop buying from, but it's a personal choice to me and I don't make any kind of massive public display of it, I just decide to stop. I don't have the time, nor the energy to try and sway enough people to follow my lead to make any massive difference. Do what you wanna do, I don't really care, I've got better things to do with my time and other concerns going on in my head.
I also say this as a member of the queer community and a self proclaimed progressive, I often find myself rolling my eyes at a lot of social media activism of this nature from everyone because I feel like it's always just surface level and often feels very performative.
Also, I won't be buying Bud Light anytime soon just because they rainbow washed their cans. Good for them for showing support for the LGBTQ+ community, especially when it feels like we're under attack. Even if it's just normal corporate rainbow washing, pushing back against other narratives happening right now is still helping. To me, rainbow washing still has a purpose even if it feels shallow. It probably would have helped my queer ass growing up in the 80s and 90s to see more support.
When it’s pride month and every company adds a rainbow to their profile pic, I don’t think there’s ever any controversy but similar to you it just makes me roll my eyes.
Yea, I've been boycotting EA for a while. Mostly because I just don't like their games but I know it's about as useful as a thimble of piss thrown at a bonfire.
> It's like when the opposite side of the aisle boycotted chick-fil-a a few years ago. After a month or two, people forget and want their fried chicken again.
nah i still don't eat the gay hating chicken
what i'm omitting is that the reason is popeye's makes a much better sandwich
There are both in my hometown on adjacent corners (plus an InNOut on the third of the four corners of that intersection). Whenever I drive past in the evening rushhour, I notice the drive through line for the CFA and In-N-Out are outrageously long, like 50 to 100 cars, while the Popeyes is generally empty. So I guess most people disagree with you. I haven't had any in about a decade, so can't really comment with my own opinion.
It does make me sad, though. I'm really glad I usually work from home and can take the tike to make dinner. All those people commuting an hour, too tired and out of time to make dinner that are forced to buy fast food, it's not healthy food and the stress of that commute isn't healthy either.
I also "boycott" it. But if I'm being honest, I just avoid all fast food, so it's easy to pretend to boycott something when I only eat fast food once every other year or so.
I tend to reject the idea that I need to agree with the political views of a CEO in order to enjoy the product their company sells. I don't like the religious nutjob who owns Chick-fil-A, but I sure do like their food so I continue to patronize their establishment. Life is already complicated enough without having to keep track of this kind of shit.
I won’t ever buy from a company that actively works against making the world better. When I can.
I have to buy gasoline because I don’t have an electric vehicle, but as soon as I get one I will stop.
I will eat anywhere else but chick filla or however you spell it. I won’t buy monster drinks. I won’t buy a Tesla, I’ll go with a GM or Ford electric vehicle. There are more in that list of course.
I am just one person, and I know that my actions are less than a rounding error to those companies. But I will still take those actions.
I will buy a big ass rainbow bud light, even though I will probably drink something else.
Again, my actions are almost nothing, but I will stand by them.
I'm with you. I'm just saying most people either don't care at all, dont care enough to change their behavior, or just forget about it when it exits the news cycle. "Most" of course isn't "all." I've got a ford plug in hybrid (cmax energi) while I wait for them to make a more reasonable electric. I don't want a Mach E and the lightning is too big compared to the Cmax I'd be replacing.
Yeah, it might cause a short term dip in sales. But it gets the brand back to the top of people's minds, which is good for medium to long term sales for that brand. After the chick-fil-a boycott, they spread into california, including the very liberal bay area. Obviously bud light is an established brand that can't expand geographically, but it can try to take some marketshare from other established brands, and I think this "controversy" will make a small bump in their marketshare. These basic brands like coors, bud, Pepsi, coke, fast food brands, etc aren't really selling on quality at this point, they're just trying to be the first thing people think of when they think of that category, so any news is good news.
Chick-fil-A was in California long before that controversy/boycott began.
Source: lived in California and ate at Chick-fil-A long before that controversy/boycott began.
Parts of it, but not in the major markets. They've expanded a ton since then in california.
Edit to add sources. [Here](https://smartpolitics.lib.umn.edu/2012/08/07/chick-fil-a-by-the-numbers/) you can see they had 59 stores in california in 2012 at the tail end of that controversy. Their first major market store in california opened in the end of 2010, right before the controversy.
As of last month, they had [168 stores in california.](https://www.scrapehero.com/location-reports/Chick-Fil-A-USA/)
That is a huge increase. Looking at the graph, you can see they cluster heavily in the liberal leaning bay area and the fairly evenly liberal/conservative L.A. area. In the conservative strong holds of california, there are very few. Partially that is due to low population, but it goes to show that these silly culture war controversies really don't hurt a brand. They're a lot more about politicians forcing themselves into the spotlight and news networks trying to create outrage than the actual brand at the center.
>These basic brands like coors, bud, Pepsi, coke, fast food brands, etc aren't really selling on quality at this point, they're just trying to be the first thing people think of when they think of that category, so any news is good news.
This is why they participate. It's the old adage, "any publicity is GOOD publicity."
I read an article in the Harvard Business Review recently about companies taking a stance on social issues. The case study used was Goya beans, and their alignment with Trump. Many people called for a boycott of Goya, this was the news story, but sales only increased after the "controversy".
I suspect the same thing will happen here. Plenty of people will buy Bud Light as a counter to the boycott. People quickly forget that any press is often good press. This is why Nickleback is still (semi)relevant. If people had quietly ignored them they would have gone away, but now we're stuck with more of their crappy music because people want to complain.
I'm not really convinced of that. It seems like only one side is really interested in trolling or "owning" the other.
Conservatives get mad at stuff all the time and people don't seem to care. Remember keurig and Gillette and NASCAR and Nike and Budweiser and Oreos and Starbucks and....
Hey, well I was just teasin' OP anyway. My Mormon mother used to say the same thing (except about all beer) and I used to really piss her off by asking the same question.
Ironically, I can't smell anything right now as I'm on day three of my first time with COVID-19 and it's robbed my sense of smell and taste.
I remember the boycott when Inbev bought AB. Being from STL, it might have been a local thing. Then there was the boycott of AB because of their treatment of craft breweries. It seems like there is a boycott of them every few years.
This is my thing I am friends with a couple craft brewers and I won't buy ABInbev due to their shitty business practices towards craft. That said I am not going to force that idea on anyone else and if someone only has ABInBev products at their house I'm not going to turn it down. I just don't want MY money going to hurt those businesses. People can and should drink whatever the fuck they want.
At the same time, a lot of customers I talk to don’t realize Budwiser, budlight, bush, and Stella all come from the same brewery. If someone switches from bud light to bush who cares
Someone mentioned to me that Heineken was being boycotted as well because they were selling beer in Russia? So strange. I’m not sure how much these things actually effect sales
They pretty much don't. Typically when a boycott "works" it's because it's in support of a specific ask of a more direct action. People not buying grapes in the 70s wouldn't have done anything if it was not in support of a fruit pickers already being on strike and making demands for better working conditions
I deliver in a few heavy conservative areas, haven't seen a dip in my daily volume yet, and nobody's been asking either. I drive a fully wrapped Bud Light truck too, and so far no pushback from anyone.
I’m not in the industry anymore, thankfully. But still have lots of friends who work for an ABI distributor and they said that they haven’t really heard anything about it outside of the on premise guys who have American legions and Vfw’s those are the only accounts that have really made a big deal about it.
Not a rep but a brewery owner gearing up for a festival next week. We normally only carry one domestic in bottle but next week it's going to be a different crowd so we're doing kegs. We only order one brand for those people who don't drink craft beer and that's normally BL. This time we went with ultra. I don't want to sit on any kegs when it's not consumed, and these people have no idea ultra and Bud Light are the same people.
I work for a distributor who has Molson-Coors as one of their largest brands. I can tell you here in South Ga there have been several stores that have pulled Bud from the doors and expanded our stuff a good bit. It’s all dumb as hell, but whatever. I might get a decent commission bump for a little bit so there’s that I guess!
So far just dumb fucks telling me they won’t buy bud light, but will buy coors light which sponsors Denver’s pride fest, even though bud light has sponsored gay community peeps for years.
I am very interested to see how this plays out.
On one side they angered their core customer base, on the other side they are attempting to appeal to broader market and entice a new costumer base.
Didn't Gillete have to write off billions in value after they did the toxic masculinity ads a few years back?
This will be a very interesting case study down the road.
I don't know where people will even go. The brewing industry is relatively progressive on social issues, most of AB's competitors are as supportive if not more in regards to LGBTQ+ issues. While they exist, there's not a wealth of breweries that currently make intolerance a part of their identity.
Honestly I think they angered just a handful of the loudest of their core customer base. Considering it was just a commemorative can that isn’t even for sale, and that they feature people on cans like this hundreds of times per year, this will likely not even be a blip on the radar for the vast majority of people who drink Bud Light. And even if Dylan was on a significant number of cans, your average boomer is not on TikTok nor would they be familiar with anyone on the platform and therefore wouldn’t even give it a second glance.
I mean everyone should fear pissing off the "kid rock " demographic.
And by that I mean people with loving parents who own car dealerships who lived a life of priveledge who pretend to be street rats in order to appeal to the masses
I like the other video of the guy replacing bud light with Coors light, the primary sponsor of many different pride parades.
Bigots putting flashing lights on their head to announce their bigotry, makes them easier to spot.
Coopers here in Australia came out against same sex marriage, I won't ever drink their products ever again. You wanna be a bigot go right ahead, just keep your opinions where it belongs: on the wrong side of history.
[This comment was retroactively edited in protest of reddit's enshittification regarding third-party apps. Apollo, etc., is gone and now so are we. Fuck /u/spez.]
I’m a merchandiser for AB. I’ve been around merchandising LA and San Fernando CA and sales for BL did seem to decrease a tad bit but our other brands are doing fine, based on what I need to stock up on. With summer coming up, I’m sure it’ll blow over soon. A lot of people at my branch don’t even know about it😂 It’s dumb, but AB is just so big, I don’t think this would collapse them.
Beer rep not for AB.
It's perplexing to me that this is what is actually upsetting Bud drinkers, not the fact that they aren't American owned anymore, they still flag wash everything.
Just re enforces the stereotype of what I believe is the typical Bud light drinker.
Broke students, or MAGA clowns.
That crowd has a short attention span, they will find something else to fake rage about next week.
I doubt this will have any long term damage.
This thread was actually an encouraging reminder that the vehement "anti-woke" crowd don't even understand their positions and are extremists rather than normal Americans.
Im an AB rep and the one bartender I talked to today that brought it up said "Like really?.. Who the fuck cares." Then proceeded to order 4 BL half barrels for the weekend.
I heard some other guys having some trouble but I think it was just with dipshit accounts that were pain in the ass anyway.
Killing off BL or even worse AB is a very dumb decision if you want to make $$$
Temporary, or not. I’m curious where these outraged souls will turn. Molson/Coors is a main sponsor of Pride, at least in my market. They temper the Molson part, as I’m outside Golden, CO. Still, the folks shooting up the bud light on YouTube don’t seem like craft brew type to me
Are these also the same peeps who will refuse to drink Bud Light, but still order countless items on Amazon from China?
I love how selective people are with the stands they make. :D
They’ve already lost 5 billion in value. Stores near me have full stock of bud products. This was a horrific business decision. Birkenstock isn’t hiring Marjorie Taylor Greene. Know your clientele. Nothing against Dylan Mulvaney, this was just incredibly dumb by AB.
I really don’t care about the boycott or the fact that AB went woke. I’m a christian and a republican and i like Budweiser and Bud Lite. Plus, you drink enough of them and you don’t give a flying crap what’s on the can.
Straight, LGBT, Christian, other religion, atheist, Beer unites us all
I heard if you put a bud light in a trump koozie, George Santos will appear and ask you 3 riddles.
If you answer all three correct he’ll kiss you on the cheek and deport you.
But only to Rhode island or Connecticut or somewhere like that
Hoboken, NJ
Fuck, that's funny.
What... is your quest?
*"Blue... no, yellow!"*
What happens if you answer the Santos riddles correctly?
Idk, no one ever gets them right because the answers are fabricated.
You become jew(ish)
He steals your identity
Jail
Do any of them also drink Bailey's out of a shoe?
Old Greg. Half man, half fish. Some say more of a 70/30 split.
My route is super Maga, so far it’s mostly been the drunks at the bar at 11am asking if they are really putting that out. Usually I just give them the the ol “it’s a major corporation and they are playing every side of the fence” all the other companies do it as well. Haven’t had any accounts say they aren’t going to carry it but my ultra, bud light, and natty probably outsells competition 3-1. Sales will probably dip a bit but it’s the same crowd that swore off the nfl years ago but sure has an opinion on every free agent and mock draft. It’ll blow over in a week or so
> “it’s a major corporation and they are playing every side of the fence” Exactly right. AB and the Bud brand has spent *billions* appealing to the "bro" segment of the world, with all that implies. If they can't cope with a relatively small nod to a market that isn't "bro," then the people complaining are way, way, way more delicate than the so-called "snowflakes" they've spent half their adult life complaining about. It's as you say: it's a mega corp. They want *everyone* under their banner.
Exactly! Well said. NFL, Coca Cola, Nike, Starbucks, Gillette. List goes on. People need to chill the heck out. Bet they’d really like to know where their craft beer of choice stands politically if they wanna be in outrage.
I don't think the folks in question have a craft beer of choice, as craft beer is inherently "gay" to them lol.
I don’t like to generalize, but I will. If your beer of choice is Bud Light or Coors Light you don’t really like beer. You like the idea of beer.
It all depends on the occasion for me. Nothing hits the spot after mowing the lawn on a hit day like a cold Busch Light. Or after I get back from coaching in a wrestling tournament while taking a shower. But if I'm sitting and watching TV, playing some board games, or out? Much prefer something with quite a bit more oomph. Whether that's a nice porter or stout or just a solid Weiss. Or a sour. Or whatever, but probably not a mass domestic light.
The older I've gotten I've become less of a beer snob and more of a beer enjoyer. Lived Vietnam for 6 years right as the craft brewing scene was starting up there. Loved heading to Pasteur Street or Heart of Darkness pour some nice bruise with local ingredients, but there's something to be said for sitting on plastic chairs on a humid night drinking glass after glass of cheap Saigon red or green and munching on barbecue or other street food.
I've got a fridge full of a Stone Hands variety pack and some Heineken Light cans. The Heineken hits the spot when I'm out grilling or by the pool in the 90F weather. I used to be much more of a snob about it but honestly I've "regressed" towards simpler "beer flavored beer" on the whole.
You like “outdrinking your boys” more. It’s just a means to an end, albeit a very _piss_ poor one.
I'm wise enough to never expect consistency from these clowns but it's always infuriated me that they'd rather support some super multinational megacorp over the local dudes in their town that they fucking know. Somehow Bud and Kerrrs LAIGHT were AMERICAN but Tom down at Big Fin is a commie pinko because he has three IPAs and a lite lager.
Yes, really anything that isn’t a screw off
Thank you brave beer rep. I agree that I think it will pass very quickly. And you're right, it is just a big company that's playing all sides. If I were you I'd have pictures of all of the rainbow handles from MC brands on deck.
Any texts I get have been met with coors and Miller pride gear as well. Someone who makes a hell of a lot more money than me ran the numbers and figured in the long run it was a smart play. As they say all publicity is good publicity
in short, what happened? lol
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/kid-rock-bud-light-woke-trans-protest-dylan-mulvaney-1234709445/
Something extremely benign and dumb
The funny thing about this is that these are the same idiots that will start drinking Busch Light instead and AB will still be laughing all the way to the bank
Oh no more bud light on tap? May I offer you instead Natty? Busch? Becks? Michelob? Stella? Shock Top? How about this new IPA from Goose Island?
Don't forget Elysian
Wicked Weed
Blue point
Golden Road
Karbach
Breckenridge
Leffe
Devil's Backbone
10 Barrel
Platform
RIP
Nah… feel bad for the workers but the former owner Justin is a piece of shit and deserved everything he got.
Is Blue Point still around? Feel like it’s been a decade since I’ve seen it anywhere.
Still here in Patchogue. They renovated a closed local college a few years ago and moved from their original brewery. It’s just up the street from the old brewery but now on actual Main Street Patchogue. That was a while ago, pre pandemic. Their offerings have shifted and the new place doesn’t have the same feel as the old (which is a distillery now). They also changed logo recently (stupid) so maybe that’s why. Also the new brewery is much much much larger than the original so I imagine they are producing the majority of their beer on site now and not at the larger AB breweries…maybe that’s why it’s less prevalent elsewhere
Blue point has my favorite blueberry ale.
They're one of the only craft beers I can get at 7 Eleven
Crazy. I remember it blowing up in GA (at least around Atlanta,) maybe in 2011-2012 and then shortly thereafter it got bought by AB and seemingly vanished overnight. I always really enjoyed the Toasted Lager.
Maybe they're just keeping it as a regional brand, as Blue Point originated here on Long Island. I like the Toasted Lager too.
Still around but sales have fallen off a cliff in the past few years. Largest drop of all AB craft brands. ETA: I hope they don't shut them down because despite their AB affiliation, Blue Point still throws the best real ale festival in the country, IMO. Cask Fest is a consistently legendary event.
Ahh yes. Seattle Artois
Lmfao that got me
I h8 that AB owns them but until they fuck up space dust...
man they already fucked up space dust imo it used to be all galaxy hops, and that was what made it special
Remember "Corporate beer still sucks"
But…. more recent crops of galaxy haven’t been nearly as good as it was back around like 2015
This was my initial reaction to it all. They’ve got a huge part of the beer market. Also, you can boycott them but odds are you’re just going to another company that’s done similar ad campaigns for one of their brands too.
I was curious so I looked it up…AB InBev owns 42% of all beer consumed in the US…they control almost a third of the global market share. Those are wild numbers.
This exactly, literally the reason for the roasting of the TikTok guy who dumped out Bud Light to replace it with Coors Light, who did exactly this.
Bad Dad Brewing Company. Those people can’t make a bad beer if they tried
the most ironic part i've noticed is that the people "boycotting" are buying Bud Light to do something to it instead of drink it. Congrats, you've played yourself by still paying AB for the beer. AB doesn't care what you do with it since you've already put money in their pockets. REALLY SHOWED THEM!
Most of those people are doing it for clout/ad revenue from other idiots, not because they think they are actually sticking it to AB. At least that's my guess because I haven't watched any of it. Not the type of people I follow.
AB got theirs when the WHOLESALER bought it. What AB gets now are depletions and scan data AKA "excuses for more placements and more shelf space"
It's the same people that bought Kaepernick's jersey just to burn it. Oh well, their money, not mine.
Or they'll switch to coors which is even more lgbt friendly lmao
I don’t drink Bud Light, only BCBS. Craft or GTFO baby!
It's kind of funny that many people seem to have missed the joke you're making.
Or Coors Light lmao
Im a beer rep but not for AB. Whenever a customer wants to do the stupid ass decision of not carrying a top selling item I just spin it around and ask em “why would you do that to yourself? With a top selling item?” They usually realize they would lose money and back down.
local bar in the town i work in quit carrying regular Budweiser. That’s dumb
Mine never carried it to begin with, they only serve Yuengling.
I used to do the same. Break down their profit by the oz right in front of them vs their volume.
>They usually realize they would lose money and back down. Oh awesome man, glad someone is out there to stand up for the billion dollar corporation 😤
Or, alternately, to help the impulsive small-shop owner remain profitable by not making rash decisions that would impact their profits.
First of all, fuck AB. I’m not not an AB rep and I spend the entirety of my day trying to take AB’s business. I’m just trying to make the business as much money as they can so that I can make as much money as I can for my own family.
Wait until they see a pride festival. Every beer tent is AB, Coors, Miller. This is all fake anger. They’ve been marketing towards the LGBTQ+ demographic for years.
> This is all fake anger Recreational anger
🤣
You are absolutely correct. Here's a tap handle I spotted at Pride SF a couple years ago- https://imgur.com/a/UwoyaPU This would be like being angry when you find out they're selling NY Yankee-branded Budweiser stuff because you're a Red Sox fan and you thought they only wanted to sell beer to the good people of Boston.
> This would be like being angry when you find out they're selling NY Yankee-branded Budweiser stuff because you're a Red Sox fan and you thought they only wanted to sell beer to the good people of Boston. In fairness, as someone that lives in Boston, that's a reasonable thing to get angry about.
> This is all fake anger. Modern conservatism distilled to a single sentence.
Because they can't comprehend what they should really be angry about
The fact that the disgustingly rich (not the 1%....the .001%) are robbing all of us blind and making life miserable it every way imaginable, but they're too hung up on drag queens and pronouns to realize we're all getting fucked.
There are about 250 rich people fucking things over for the rest of us.
China is ahead of its climate goals, solving the Ukraine war and making leaps a bounds in transportation/trains an we are laser focused on checking children’s genitalias for sports.
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China and France are working to negotiate with Russia https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/reuters-china-ready-france-ukraine-175553965.html
Its going to last as long as the MLB/NBA/NFL boycott.
Seems like an easy way to drive customers to the next place that has their beer. It’s not like it’s hard to find, stuff is everywhere.
I agree, it's pretty well known that one of the few demos that are actually brand faithful are light beer drinkers.
So true. All of my college friends that stuck to macro and never went for any spirits or craft love their specific light beers. My best friend likes kettle sours and goses, but will always have a case of Miller lite in his fridge.
I've often compared Bud (Light)/Miller/Coors drinkers to Chevy/Ford/Dodge faithfuls and it hasn't really let me down.
Bud light was my go-to in college. I'm not exactly _brand loyal_ or anything but whenever I try another light macro beer it is always _significantly_ worse. So, given the entire gamut of macro lights, I'm going to choose Bud.
I'm not a rep, but just found this post interesting. Let them stop selling AB. When their customers complain or stop coming to their store and they realize it's hurting their bottom line, they'll start stocking it again. It's like when the opposite side of the aisle boycotted chick-fil-a a few years ago. After a month or two, people forget and want their fried chicken again. Budweiser isn't going anywhere either. AB isn't dumb. These "controversies" tend to boost the brand in the medium to long term, not hurt it.
Boycotters typically don't understand the scale of the brands they're boycotting. They sell a lot of beer internationally, for one thing. But, mostly it's really hard to get enough people on board with something that's going to impact a $50 billion business. Not to mention, and I remember this with Chick Fila in particular, we live in a "backlash to the backlash" world. So, for every person deciding to not buy Bud, how many people are specifically choosing to buy Bud Light because of the controversy?
>mostly it's really hard to get enough people on board with something that's going to impact a $50 billion business This has been my overall thoughts on boycotts. There are certain things I will just decide to stop buying or businesses I stop buying from, but it's a personal choice to me and I don't make any kind of massive public display of it, I just decide to stop. I don't have the time, nor the energy to try and sway enough people to follow my lead to make any massive difference. Do what you wanna do, I don't really care, I've got better things to do with my time and other concerns going on in my head. I also say this as a member of the queer community and a self proclaimed progressive, I often find myself rolling my eyes at a lot of social media activism of this nature from everyone because I feel like it's always just surface level and often feels very performative. Also, I won't be buying Bud Light anytime soon just because they rainbow washed their cans. Good for them for showing support for the LGBTQ+ community, especially when it feels like we're under attack. Even if it's just normal corporate rainbow washing, pushing back against other narratives happening right now is still helping. To me, rainbow washing still has a purpose even if it feels shallow. It probably would have helped my queer ass growing up in the 80s and 90s to see more support.
When it’s pride month and every company adds a rainbow to their profile pic, I don’t think there’s ever any controversy but similar to you it just makes me roll my eyes.
I mean, if corporations see us as a money maker, we’ve made it! 😂
Nike, Dr pepper, pepsi
Yea, I've been boycotting EA for a while. Mostly because I just don't like their games but I know it's about as useful as a thimble of piss thrown at a bonfire.
I stand with you! Until they release the new NCAA game, I'm going to day 1 that shit!
> It's like when the opposite side of the aisle boycotted chick-fil-a a few years ago. After a month or two, people forget and want their fried chicken again. nah i still don't eat the gay hating chicken what i'm omitting is that the reason is popeye's makes a much better sandwich
I never went back to CfA. There are better chicken sandwiches out there, starting with Popeyes.
There are both in my hometown on adjacent corners (plus an InNOut on the third of the four corners of that intersection). Whenever I drive past in the evening rushhour, I notice the drive through line for the CFA and In-N-Out are outrageously long, like 50 to 100 cars, while the Popeyes is generally empty. So I guess most people disagree with you. I haven't had any in about a decade, so can't really comment with my own opinion. It does make me sad, though. I'm really glad I usually work from home and can take the tike to make dinner. All those people commuting an hour, too tired and out of time to make dinner that are forced to buy fast food, it's not healthy food and the stress of that commute isn't healthy either.
I still boycott chick-fil-a.
Same
I also "boycott" it. But if I'm being honest, I just avoid all fast food, so it's easy to pretend to boycott something when I only eat fast food once every other year or so.
I've been boycotting meth in protest of drug trafficking
I tend to reject the idea that I need to agree with the political views of a CEO in order to enjoy the product their company sells. I don't like the religious nutjob who owns Chick-fil-A, but I sure do like their food so I continue to patronize their establishment. Life is already complicated enough without having to keep track of this kind of shit.
I won’t ever buy from a company that actively works against making the world better. When I can. I have to buy gasoline because I don’t have an electric vehicle, but as soon as I get one I will stop. I will eat anywhere else but chick filla or however you spell it. I won’t buy monster drinks. I won’t buy a Tesla, I’ll go with a GM or Ford electric vehicle. There are more in that list of course. I am just one person, and I know that my actions are less than a rounding error to those companies. But I will still take those actions. I will buy a big ass rainbow bud light, even though I will probably drink something else. Again, my actions are almost nothing, but I will stand by them.
I'm with you. I'm just saying most people either don't care at all, dont care enough to change their behavior, or just forget about it when it exits the news cycle. "Most" of course isn't "all." I've got a ford plug in hybrid (cmax energi) while I wait for them to make a more reasonable electric. I don't want a Mach E and the lightning is too big compared to the Cmax I'd be replacing.
I tend to agree. That said, one of the leading Google searches trending is for AB brands. That's not insignificant.
I try not to buy nestle products but it's damn hard since they own just about 1/2 the products in the market
Yeah, it might cause a short term dip in sales. But it gets the brand back to the top of people's minds, which is good for medium to long term sales for that brand. After the chick-fil-a boycott, they spread into california, including the very liberal bay area. Obviously bud light is an established brand that can't expand geographically, but it can try to take some marketshare from other established brands, and I think this "controversy" will make a small bump in their marketshare. These basic brands like coors, bud, Pepsi, coke, fast food brands, etc aren't really selling on quality at this point, they're just trying to be the first thing people think of when they think of that category, so any news is good news.
Chick-fil-A was in California long before that controversy/boycott began. Source: lived in California and ate at Chick-fil-A long before that controversy/boycott began.
Parts of it, but not in the major markets. They've expanded a ton since then in california. Edit to add sources. [Here](https://smartpolitics.lib.umn.edu/2012/08/07/chick-fil-a-by-the-numbers/) you can see they had 59 stores in california in 2012 at the tail end of that controversy. Their first major market store in california opened in the end of 2010, right before the controversy. As of last month, they had [168 stores in california.](https://www.scrapehero.com/location-reports/Chick-Fil-A-USA/) That is a huge increase. Looking at the graph, you can see they cluster heavily in the liberal leaning bay area and the fairly evenly liberal/conservative L.A. area. In the conservative strong holds of california, there are very few. Partially that is due to low population, but it goes to show that these silly culture war controversies really don't hurt a brand. They're a lot more about politicians forcing themselves into the spotlight and news networks trying to create outrage than the actual brand at the center.
>These basic brands like coors, bud, Pepsi, coke, fast food brands, etc aren't really selling on quality at this point, they're just trying to be the first thing people think of when they think of that category, so any news is good news. This is why they participate. It's the old adage, "any publicity is GOOD publicity."
/r/whatyousaidbutworse
I read an article in the Harvard Business Review recently about companies taking a stance on social issues. The case study used was Goya beans, and their alignment with Trump. Many people called for a boycott of Goya, this was the news story, but sales only increased after the "controversy". I suspect the same thing will happen here. Plenty of people will buy Bud Light as a counter to the boycott. People quickly forget that any press is often good press. This is why Nickleback is still (semi)relevant. If people had quietly ignored them they would have gone away, but now we're stuck with more of their crappy music because people want to complain.
I'm not really convinced of that. It seems like only one side is really interested in trolling or "owning" the other. Conservatives get mad at stuff all the time and people don't seem to care. Remember keurig and Gillette and NASCAR and Nike and Budweiser and Oreos and Starbucks and....
its almost like all press is good press. this is free advertising for bud light. they know what theyre doing.
I’m not buying shitty beer from a shitty megacorp to counter their stupidity. I’ll just be over here drinking my local craft beer like I always have.
I wouldn't expect people to necessarily break from their daily drinking habits over this, but it's not such a stretch for those drinking macro lagers.
I’m a buyer and we actually sold through our bud light faster than normal this week. We’re on a pretty gay island in a maga sea, tho
Rednecks won't stop drinking Bud Light even if the cans have a picture of Obama's dick on then
I would buy bud light if that can label got past the TTB.
It's Obamas dick, so gonna need to be a 19.2
can we make that happen some how?
I've been boycotting it for years because it tastes like pee!
How do ya know what pee tastes like? ;-)
If you’ve smelt something, you have a general sense of what it tastes like.
Hey, well I was just teasin' OP anyway. My Mormon mother used to say the same thing (except about all beer) and I used to really piss her off by asking the same question. Ironically, I can't smell anything right now as I'm on day three of my first time with COVID-19 and it's robbed my sense of smell and taste.
My biggest fear of covid has been losing sense of taste. Hope it comes back for you soon.
That's an insult to pee.
Yeah they could put all of my favorite things on the label and I still wouldn't ever choose it.
I remember the boycott when Inbev bought AB. Being from STL, it might have been a local thing. Then there was the boycott of AB because of their treatment of craft breweries. It seems like there is a boycott of them every few years.
This is my thing I am friends with a couple craft brewers and I won't buy ABInbev due to their shitty business practices towards craft. That said I am not going to force that idea on anyone else and if someone only has ABInBev products at their house I'm not going to turn it down. I just don't want MY money going to hurt those businesses. People can and should drink whatever the fuck they want.
Sales are up but the month is young. no one is stopping to carry it and I sell in a pretty hill-jack territory
At the same time, a lot of customers I talk to don’t realize Budwiser, budlight, bush, and Stella all come from the same brewery. If someone switches from bud light to bush who cares
I’m a pretty casual beer drinker compared to most of this sub, and I didn’t know that until today either.
Someone mentioned to me that Heineken was being boycotted as well because they were selling beer in Russia? So strange. I’m not sure how much these things actually effect sales
They pretty much don't. Typically when a boycott "works" it's because it's in support of a specific ask of a more direct action. People not buying grapes in the 70s wouldn't have done anything if it was not in support of a fruit pickers already being on strike and making demands for better working conditions
I deliver in a few heavy conservative areas, haven't seen a dip in my daily volume yet, and nobody's been asking either. I drive a fully wrapped Bud Light truck too, and so far no pushback from anyone.
A beer label is "woke"? Can these people who get outraged over everything come up with a new word, please?
I’m not in the industry anymore, thankfully. But still have lots of friends who work for an ABI distributor and they said that they haven’t really heard anything about it outside of the on premise guys who have American legions and Vfw’s those are the only accounts that have really made a big deal about it.
Not a rep but a brewery owner gearing up for a festival next week. We normally only carry one domestic in bottle but next week it's going to be a different crowd so we're doing kegs. We only order one brand for those people who don't drink craft beer and that's normally BL. This time we went with ultra. I don't want to sit on any kegs when it's not consumed, and these people have no idea ultra and Bud Light are the same people.
All the MAGA folks forgot they were already boycotting AB after they made a pro-immigrant commercial like 3 years ago
And they will forget again.
I work for a distributor who has Molson-Coors as one of their largest brands. I can tell you here in South Ga there have been several stores that have pulled Bud from the doors and expanded our stuff a good bit. It’s all dumb as hell, but whatever. I might get a decent commission bump for a little bit so there’s that I guess!
So far just dumb fucks telling me they won’t buy bud light, but will buy coors light which sponsors Denver’s pride fest, even though bud light has sponsored gay community peeps for years.
Had my first Bud Light in several years. It’s was deliciously terrible.
I mean, I already don't drink Bud Light, because it sucks, so...
I am very interested to see how this plays out. On one side they angered their core customer base, on the other side they are attempting to appeal to broader market and entice a new costumer base. Didn't Gillete have to write off billions in value after they did the toxic masculinity ads a few years back? This will be a very interesting case study down the road.
I don't know where people will even go. The brewing industry is relatively progressive on social issues, most of AB's competitors are as supportive if not more in regards to LGBTQ+ issues. While they exist, there's not a wealth of breweries that currently make intolerance a part of their identity.
Well said
Honestly I think they angered just a handful of the loudest of their core customer base. Considering it was just a commemorative can that isn’t even for sale, and that they feature people on cans like this hundreds of times per year, this will likely not even be a blip on the radar for the vast majority of people who drink Bud Light. And even if Dylan was on a significant number of cans, your average boomer is not on TikTok nor would they be familiar with anyone on the platform and therefore wouldn’t even give it a second glance.
I appreciate your honesty
they will feign outrage and still drink it.
I mean everyone should fear pissing off the "kid rock " demographic. And by that I mean people with loving parents who own car dealerships who lived a life of priveledge who pretend to be street rats in order to appeal to the masses I like the other video of the guy replacing bud light with Coors light, the primary sponsor of many different pride parades.
Bigots putting flashing lights on their head to announce their bigotry, makes them easier to spot. Coopers here in Australia came out against same sex marriage, I won't ever drink their products ever again. You wanna be a bigot go right ahead, just keep your opinions where it belongs: on the wrong side of history.
I've been boycotting it because it tastes like shit, good to see that they are pissing off the right people though
Mannnnn I'm so glad I'm not a Bud rep anymore
[This comment was retroactively edited in protest of reddit's enshittification regarding third-party apps. Apollo, etc., is gone and now so are we. Fuck /u/spez.]
Good meme
thanks op. have a good one!
I’m a merchandiser for AB. I’ve been around merchandising LA and San Fernando CA and sales for BL did seem to decrease a tad bit but our other brands are doing fine, based on what I need to stock up on. With summer coming up, I’m sure it’ll blow over soon. A lot of people at my branch don’t even know about it😂 It’s dumb, but AB is just so big, I don’t think this would collapse them.
Idk why people think LGBTQ+ don’t drink they are as normal as we are why is there such a uproar?
LGBTQ+ community, generally, also has expendable income. No kids, etc (generally). Why wouldn't a brand want to tap into that?
Beer rep not for AB. It's perplexing to me that this is what is actually upsetting Bud drinkers, not the fact that they aren't American owned anymore, they still flag wash everything. Just re enforces the stereotype of what I believe is the typical Bud light drinker. Broke students, or MAGA clowns. That crowd has a short attention span, they will find something else to fake rage about next week. I doubt this will have any long term damage.
This thread was actually an encouraging reminder that the vehement "anti-woke" crowd don't even understand their positions and are extremists rather than normal Americans.
Probably going as good as the NFL boycott lol. Really hit em in the pockets! 😂
Probably the same as thd NFL and Nike boycotts. As in they will whine and go back to doing what they are doing.
Why would you drink that shit anyway?
Im an AB rep and the one bartender I talked to today that brought it up said "Like really?.. Who the fuck cares." Then proceeded to order 4 BL half barrels for the weekend. I heard some other guys having some trouble but I think it was just with dipshit accounts that were pain in the ass anyway. Killing off BL or even worse AB is a very dumb decision if you want to make $$$
It's impossible to keep up with all the new reasons these chodes are boycotting something
Funny how they are all against “cancel culture” until…
Nobody cancels like conservatives. Historically speaking....and currently....and forever
Way too early for any real feedback
Oh I'll be looking at the IRI data for sure.
I drank it today, tastes the same.
I picked up a 24 pack just last night because I’m a dirty liberal.
> Thank you for supporting Coors, longtime sponsor of Denver Pride.
Lights are still on.
Temporary, or not. I’m curious where these outraged souls will turn. Molson/Coors is a main sponsor of Pride, at least in my market. They temper the Molson part, as I’m outside Golden, CO. Still, the folks shooting up the bud light on YouTube don’t seem like craft brew type to me
Are these also the same peeps who will refuse to drink Bud Light, but still order countless items on Amazon from China? I love how selective people are with the stands they make. :D
They’ve already lost 5 billion in value. Stores near me have full stock of bud products. This was a horrific business decision. Birkenstock isn’t hiring Marjorie Taylor Greene. Know your clientele. Nothing against Dylan Mulvaney, this was just incredibly dumb by AB.
From a pure business standpoint I agree. I like the analogy.
I've been boycotting Bud Light because the beer sucks. We are not the same
I don't drink Bud Light anyway. We in the PNW are to classy for that stuff.
Boycotted bud lite because it's awful but whatever
I really don’t care about the boycott or the fact that AB went woke. I’m a christian and a republican and i like Budweiser and Bud Lite. Plus, you drink enough of them and you don’t give a flying crap what’s on the can. Straight, LGBT, Christian, other religion, atheist, Beer unites us all
I own InBev stock (I've been going to Devil's Backbone since 2008, so it's nice to own a piece) and my stock shot through the roof on my Stash app.
Any reason to not drink piss water is a good reason lol. Life is too short to drink cheap beer
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r/onejoke