The whole world has been paying attention to the fallout from Bud Light’s recent transgender ad campaign, but the truth is, like so many other American companies, Bud has been woke for a long time.
In 2016, Bud was hailed by extreme leftists for producing an ad that “[addressed] gender identity,” as LGBT magazine the Advocate wrote at the time.
“It’s a big shift from the transphobic beer commercials that we’ve seen before,” the outlet opined.
The ad featured hard-left comedians Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen as well as transgender actress Ian Harvie, according to NBC News.
“The Bud Light party is going to address the issues that matter,” Rogen and Schumer exclaimed in the 30-second spot. “It’s a party for everyone — men, women, people of all genders.”
“Gender identity, it’s really a spectrum, and we don’t need these labels!” Schumer yelled. “Beer should have labels, not people!” Rogen added.
Naturally, hard-core leftists were thrilled with the ad, which can be viewed here.
Nick Adams, GLAAD’s director of transgender media, said in a statement, “When a brand like Bud Light shows support for the transgender community, it makes a difference. … Not only does it help bring more visibility to the trans community, it also inspires other companies to do more to show their support.”
Rogen and Schumer also starred in a Bud Light commercial that year that promoted gay “marriage.”
“Bud Light proudly supports everyone’s right to marry whoever they want!” Rogen proclaimed in the ad.
Now, Bud is taking a huge financial hit following outrage over its partnership with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney. To make matters worse for the brand, it’s taking heat from both sides of the political spectrum.
Ian Harvie, the transgender actress who appeared in the 2016 “gender identity” commercial, is disappointed in Bud for hitting the brakes on the woke marketing campaign after it faced boycotts and lost billions in market value.
“It’s not about diversity; it’s about dollars,” Harvie said, according to the New York Post. “They looked at [Mulvaney’s] socials and just said, ‘You know what? Here’s a topic that’s hot right now. Why don’t we pay this person to do a promotion?'”
“I don’t believe in the allyship of Anheuser-Busch. … It is disturbing that there’s no statement of support [for Mulvaney],” Harvie added.
“They should have doubled down. They should have said, ‘You think it’s offensive to have a trans person promoting Bud Light? Well, here’s 10 more.'”
Harvie’s recommendation, though, seems to be the last thing on the minds of executives at Bud Light and its parent company.
Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris is now trying to claim there really wasn’t any ad campaign with Mulvaney. It was all just “misinformation,” don’t you know?
“We need to clarify the facts that this was one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,” Doukeris told investors on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the “not a campaign” resulted in at least two executives being put on leave and multiple attempts by the company to distance itself from the Mulvaney fiasco.
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