Usually, boycotts are unsuccessful.
It’s difficult to get enough people behind the cause of rejecting a product from a company they don’t agree with.
But the ongoing Bud Light boycott has been another story.
From its inception, this boycott seemed to be working.
Reports have varied as to how successful it’s been, but there have been signs it’s causing major concern at Anheuser-Busch.
Well, the numbers are finally in, and they’re bad for Bud Light.
Real bad.
Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney fiasco cost Anheuser-Busch more than $1B in sales last year https://t.co/LOoXbcYSxW pic.twitter.com/mANk3OADoW
— New York Post (@nypost) March 1, 2024
Here’s how much money Bud Light lost from recent boycott pic.twitter.com/fMqRtGQ3YP
— TheStreet (@TheStreet) March 1, 2024
Boycotts are typically unsuccessful because often when a call for a boycott occurs, many are able to see strides being taken by the company to correct whatever angered their customers in the first place.
Not so with Bud Light.
When the outrage at shoving leftist values down the throats of a customer base that is largely conservative became apparent, Bud Light doubled down.
That threw fuel on the fire.
Then they decided the blaze was out of control, and decided to try placating to what they thought customers wanted to see.
Cowboy hats and jeans, Clydesdales, and of course enjoying a cold one with friends in the sun on a warm summer day.
It was a painfully obvious, and sad, attempt to turn people’s opinions around, and show them that the company still respected their values.
But the damage was already done.
It doesn’t help that the product people are boycotting is readily available for the same price with other brands.
Choosing another run-of-the-mill pilsner to drink, from a company that wasn’t forcing beliefs down anyone’s throat, was an easy decision for most.
Supporters of the boycott have been celebrating the astounding loss of revenue the boycott caused.
OMG like totally devastating for Bud Light 😱💔 who knew using a sexist ad would backfire? 🤷♀️ #sorrynotsorry #sticktotheclassics #boycottbudlight 🍻
— Alexa Lake (@lexiilake) March 2, 2024
I respect Dylan's pronouns as much as he respects women and little girls
— cf 🇺🇸 1st (@here4theraysho) March 2, 2024
… lessons to learn … Disney pay attention…
— Teddy T (@teddy_t_cubert) March 2, 2024
They will never get me back
— Patrick Combs (@Combs6combs) March 2, 2024
The Gateway Pundit has more on this example of how, sometimes, boycotts do work:
According to a report in CNN, Bud Light has lost what may be a staggering $1.4 billion in the wake of the American boycott.
Anheuser-Busch executives tried to put a brave face on the loss, with CEO Michel Doukeris saying that their slow recovery is “not at the fast pace that we were expecting or that we’ve been working for.”
“But nevertheless, progress is in place,” he added.
Other analysts were not reassured by his positive spin.
One equity analyst, Aarin Chiekrie, told CNN that, “in the U.S., performance remains very underwhelming with revenue down at double-digit rates as the group lost market share.”
Fortune didn’t have much positive insight either, reporting that the problems plaguing the company in 2023 are only following it into 2024.
U.S. sales dropped by 9.5 percent in the past year, and the resolution of a potential Teamster’s strike was some of the only good news the company has received in almost a year.
Are there any other brands in American history that have fallen so precipitously and so catastrophically at the height of their power?
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