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January 1, “Biggest Marketing Blunder of All Time”: Another Embarrassment for Budweiser

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The annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota is a grand celebration of motorcycling, American heritage, and respect for the U.S. military.

While this year’s rally saw a slight dip in attendance compared to the five-year average, Sturgis, a town with a usual populace of 7,000, swelled with the roar of over 250,000 vehicles since its start last Friday.

One would expect every brand associated with such a grand event to relish the attention and sales it garners.

Not so for Budweiser, a brand known to every beer drinker across the nation.

Surprising footage from the rally shows the Budweiser tents and booths conspicuously vacant despite the brand’s prominent presence, complete with banners throughout Sturgis and even the iconic Budweiser Clydesdale horses making an appearance for the opening ceremonies.

TikTok videos, particularly from the popular Cycledrag account with a following of over 350,000 users, highlighted the stark contrast between the bustling rally and the near-empty Budweiser setups.

The videos showcase a well-organized Budweiser pavilion offering shade, cool drinks, and branded merchandise – yet almost entirely devoid of patrons.

Many on social media have been quick to link this unexpected lack of interest to Bud Light’s controversial association with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.

Following the association, the beer giant reportedly lost close to $30 billion in market value and faced significant backlash.

As Cycledrag, a prominent voice on TikTok from the rally, noted, “Right now, maybe because of the bad PR, the controversy, people [are] staying away.”

This was followed by a jesting comment that even strong political views might ultimately bow to the allure of alcohol.

But the jest has yet to see fruition.

A follow-up video by Cycledrag captured the continued indifference of rally attendees to the Budweiser stands.

The video depicted eager Budweiser staff trying to maintain a positive demeanor, clad in patriotic tees, but their frustration at the ongoing snub was palpable.

Contrasting this were the scenes at other tents.

“Sturgis is absolutely jam-packed,” Cycledrag emphasized, noting the overflowing attendance at Harley-Davidson and BMW tents.

“There must be a whole lot of beer left over in there,” noting the stark emptiness at Budweiser.

Samantha Chang from the Western Journal reflected on this unexpected turn, suggesting the tepid response at Sturgis might be the public’s way of sending a strong message.

She said it sends an “unequivocal message to Bud Light and other ‘woke’ corporations that using their products to push left-wing propaganda is unacceptable to a large segment of consumers.”

Bottom Line

It remains to be seen if this stance by Sturgis attendees will resonate elsewhere, but for now, it seems brands might need to consider more carefully how they navigate the waters of public opinion.

As our loyal readers, we encourage you to share your thoughts and opinions on this issue. Let your voice be heard and join the discussion below.


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13 Comments

13 Comments

  1. Dick

    August 13, 2023 at 10:52 pm

    Too bad Bud Light. Ignoring your key customers is not good. But then marketers located in Manhattan might not know this. Politics over markets is their motto?

    • John

      August 14, 2023 at 7:35 pm

      Fact # 1Butt-w isn’t even an American company. Belgium owns it. Has for a few years now. Fact #2. Tick-tok is a known China website. So the morons that go on there? Are just sucking up to China our biggest enemy. Stupid just keeps on reproducting.

  2. BF

    August 14, 2023 at 7:22 pm

    HAHAHAHAHA….hey bud Weiser take your alphabet freaks and go back under the rock pile you people crawled out of!!!!

  3. Jan Reddick

    August 14, 2023 at 7:25 pm

    The Budweiser brand and their other brands should be sold back to the Busch family. They were the family who loved this country and displayed it in their advertising. That would make me start buying Bud again.

  4. Marsha Haywood

    August 14, 2023 at 7:26 pm

    I am so proud of all who have taken a stand!

  5. Rob

    August 14, 2023 at 7:26 pm

    Serves them right. Their beer sucks anyway!

  6. Tomsgram

    August 14, 2023 at 7:37 pm

    This is great now we need to move onto Best Buy and their anti white CEO. Seems like they decided that us white folks aren’t allowed to enter their management programs. Why is it everytime a woman gets to the top the corporations go woke.

  7. Steve Johnson

    August 14, 2023 at 7:57 pm

    A-B never apologized for insulting all major customers with praise for transgenders who have declared WAR on all real women. In assition they promoted a ‘pride parade’ in Toronto that had doxens of naked men showing off to children. That is criminal.!

  8. Rosemary Oehmler

    August 14, 2023 at 8:15 pm

    When The Busch family sold the company to an outfit in Belgium, everything American went with it! So proud of Americans standing up to these “woke” companies!

  9. Cynthia Erickson

    August 14, 2023 at 9:37 pm

    The one thing that Budweiser might have done is to apologize to their customers for putting politics over business. They haven’t done that because they won’t admit their error. Until they do, their previous customers will not be appeased and sadly, a successful company will go down in flames. It is not because your customers are vindictive. Your customers feel betrayed and marginalised. You may keep your righteous attitude Busch but you won’t keep your business. You have bitten the hand that feeds you and we won’t forget that.

  10. EMMA

    August 15, 2023 at 12:46 pm

    LET US HOPE EVERY WOKE COMPANY WILL FACE THE SAME . WE ARE PROUD OF OUR COUNTRY, NO WE DO NOT NEED A EMPTY APOLOGY FROM ANYONE. THEY SHOULD THINK OF THE CONSEQUENCES BEFORE THEY JUMP. WE ARE NOT READY FOR THESE ABOMINATIONS, AT LEAST NOT IN OUR LIVE TIME.NO MATTER WHAT THE SICK BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS TRYING TO SHOVE DOWN OUR THROATS.

  11. Mike

    August 16, 2023 at 7:26 am

    As to Budweiser products, no real beer drinker wants to be seen drinking Queer Beer or to be asked “How does that guy taste??”.

  12. L.

    August 20, 2023 at 7:49 am

    I find it simply amazing that one lefty woman and one self proclaimed woman destroyed a major company! The woman from Budweiser will never get a corporate job again, you’ll find her at Quicky Mart.

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