I find news stories about Harry and Meghan’s exit from royal life, unusual weather, and the Anheuser-Busch controversy interesting.

If you’re not familiar with this latter story, let me give you a short recap. In April, Bud Light’s (now ex-) marketing VP wanted to update Bud Light’s “fratty” and “out of date humor” image. Anheuser-Busch contacted transgender activist/social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. In short order, a TikTok video surfaced of Dylan popping open a can of Bud-Light to celebrate 365 days of Girlhood. The result was not what AB expected. Kid Rock used cases of Bud Light for target practice, other celebrities spoke out against the campaign, and current customers expressed dissatisfaction. Bar owners pulled the beer from their shelves and refused to sell it. While a few celebrities offered support for Bud Light’s new campaign, the boycott against Bud Light was gaining steam.

At this point, Anheuser-Busch released a statement: “We are in the business of bringing people together over beer.” (Since I’m not a beer drinker, I can’t comment on the validity of this statement. I live near a Big Ten college, and usually when people are “brought together over beer,” it’s an opportunity for dumb decisions to be made.) So, what’s the thing Anheuser-Busch didn’t do? Issue a statement supporting their new campaign. Instead, they claimed the specialty cans decorated with Dylan’s face weren’t available for sale. (Um…so what?)

There was so much serious backlash and hate, Dylan left the country because it “didn’t feel safe” at home. Bud Light’s stock plummeted. They received the dreaded star at Costco (indicating it would be discontinued), and now they’re facing massive lay-offs.

Despite Anheuser-Busch’s expansive reach, they were unaware of their consumer demographic. According to The Wise Sage, otherwise known as Google, most beer drinkers are male and between the ages of 21-34 who enjoy sports, socializing, and humor. (Obviously, there also are plenty of conservatives drinking beer, proven by the boycott.)

So what happened here? A few interesting things.  1. Anheuser-Busch didn’t (to quote Shania Twain) “dance with one who brought you.” When the campaign turned into a five-alarm dumpster fire, they withdrew. Can you imagine those emergency marketing meetings?  2. Anheuser-Busch showed they don’t know their customers (or they aren’t aware of the current woke/anti-woke divide). Rather than pick a popular comedian or a young actor, they picked a social media influencer/activist.  3. In an effort to broaden their reach and make more money, they messed up by trying to fix something that wasn’t broken.

My heart goes out to Dylan. Sexual diversity/identity is a hot button issue. But nobody, regardless of how they identify themselves, should feel the need to leave their home because they feel unsafe.

I don’t know where Anheuser-Busch will go from here. They ignored the LGBTQAI+ community’s request for support. They also didn’t apologize to their current “fratty” customers, and instead fired two marketing employees in charge of the campaign. They’re spinning their wheels, afraid to make a stand and state where their support lies.

How would you have handled the situation, either the marketer’s request for Bud Light’s new image or the resulting dumpster fire? Leave your ideas in the comments below. (And if you want more articles like this, as well as book reviews and other news, sign up for my monthly newsletter! I’d love to stay in touch.)