OutKick founder Clay Travis ran an experiment over the weekend testing people’s response to Bud Light. OutKick is a news outlet specializing in sports that dubs itself “the antidote to the mainstream sports media.”
On Monday, Travis shared the results of his ‘free beer’ experiment. He offered free cans of beer in Nashville during a weekend concert. The cans were stashed in an icy cooler, and video footage was taken showing multiple beer options. One of the three choices was Bud Light.
Travis posted his weekend footage on Twitter. He said he allowed the crowds to choose their own beverage, encouraging them to “pick which beer you want.”
Footage from later in the day shows the coolers again, now almost exclusively filled with Bud Light cans. According to Travis, people steered away from Bud Light the entire evening, which revealed that consumers don’t want to associate with the brand any longer. He said a “big issue going forward for Bud Light is many don’t even want to be seen with [the] product. They just pick another brand.”
Weekend experiment. Beers in cooler at Nashville area event. Pick which beer you want. No one would take the Bud Light all night long. Big issue going forward for Bud Light is many don’t even want to be seen with product. They just pick another brand. pic.twitter.com/UleRAjdLTc
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 8, 2023
Travis recorded his results, saying at 10:15 pm, the only beer left in the cooler was Bud Light.
He followed his experiment up with an overall market analysis of the beer, saying, “Overall consumption of Bud Light is now down 26%. That’s an unmitigated disaster for the brand. And many are now avoiding the beer to avoid being mocked for drinking the beer. There’s no quick fix here; the brand is slaughtered in red-state beer-drinking communities. Bet there is hardly any at SEC tailgates this fall.”
Bud Light moved to the center of the controversial transgender movement in April after adding Dylan Mulvaney’s face to beer cans in a promotional campaign.
Conservative voices called for a boycott of the brand after Bud Light unwisely entered the culture wars. Tanking sales have been plaguing the brand ever since.
On May 4, Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris finally addressed the Bud Light controversy during an investor call, insisting that the brand’s controversial partnership with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney was “not a formal campaign.”
Since the beer company sent Mulvaney a personalized beer can, and the trans influencer posted a series of videos promoting Bud Light, there has been a nationwide boycott against the company, which has caused a major drop in sales.
