After a dismal year for the brand, Bud Light has seemingly turned away from politics with a new partnership with comedian Shane Gillis.
In a post on the brand's official Instagram account, they confirmed that Gillis, 36, was now part of the team.
The comedian was previously fired from Saturday Night Live after videos surfaced of him using racist and homophobic slurs during a podcast in 2019.
The decision to add Gillis to the brand comes less than 12 months after her disastrous partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Beer sales suffered from the change, largely due to a beer boycott, with sales in the first two weeks of 2024 falling 28.9 percent compared to last year.
In a post on the brand's Instagram account, they confirmed that Gillis, seen here, was now part of the team
Bud Light sales fell in 2023 amid conservative backlash after the brand sent a commemorative can to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney
Gillis shared pictures of herself at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis, Missouri, as well as next to one of the brand's iconic Clydesdale horses.
Last year, Gillis spoke about the ordeal with Mulvaney on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
The comedian said: “It’s become a joke and that’s hard to overcome from a marketing perspective.”
“It's hard to get people to order a Bud Light in public because they'll be made fun of.”
As part of the controversial campaign, Mulvaney posted a video of herself cracking open a Bud Light on her Instagram page on April 1.
She showed off the customized can with her face on it – one of many corporate gifts she received and shared with her millions of followers.
Bud Light was accused of alienating its traditional customer base by partnering with Mulvaney, prompting many conservatives – including Kid Rock – to boycott the brand.
The backlash led to a decline in sales and Modelo Especial took over as America's leading beer brand.
Gillis shared pictures of himself working at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in St. Louis, Missouri
Gillis was also pictured next to one of the brand's iconic Clydesdale horses, which they recently decided to revive in their ads
“No brand has ever been hit like this.”
Joe Rogan, Shane Gillis, Mark Normand and Ari Shaffir discuss the long-term effects of the Bud Light boycott. pic.twitter.com/xxV7otgCAz
— Mythinformed (@MythinformedMKE) May 30, 2023
Anheuser-Busch lost $390 million in sales in the second quarter compared to a year ago.
As of December, beer sales still hadn't recovered, despite the company partnering with NFL stars in a marketing campaign to boost sales.
In the four weeks ended Dec. 9, Bud Light retail sales fell 28 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
Reaction to Gillis' announcement as a partner with the brand was overwhelmingly positive on Bud Light's Instagram page.
One person commented: “The biggest marketing comeback ever.”
While another said: “I mean…that might be enough of an excuse.”
Another posted: “Okay I guess I'll buy Bud Light if you win.”
In 2019, Gillis was fired from his job at Saturday Night Live for using racist and homophobic slurs.
Several clips emerged in which the comedian repeatedly used racist and homophobic slurs – including in an episode of “Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast.”
On the podcast, Gillis and Matt McCusker mocked comedians Judd Apatow and Chris Gethard, calling them “white fucking comics” and “more fucking gay than ISIS.”
Gillis McCusker is also heard saying that their conversation was “nice racism, good racism.”
Shane Gillis was fired from Saturday Night Live and canceled by the media in 2019. However, after a series of appearances and his new comedy special “Beautiful Dogs,” the comedian made a comeback
Gillis apologized for 10 years of “bad comedy” in a post on his Twitter page.
Another clip came from a September 2018 podcast episode in which Gillis referred to people living in New York's Chinatown as “f***ing c***ks.”
He also made fun of the Chinese accent and language barrier in the video, saying, “Chinatown is fucking crazy.”
“The translation between you and the waiter is just so fucking tedious, it’s like you’re, I’m pointing at it like it’s the damn noodles.”
Gillis quickly apologized on Twitter for 10 years of mostly “bad” comedy.
“I'm a comedian who pushes boundaries.” Sometimes I miss it. “If you go through my 10 years of comedy, most of which were bad, you will find many terrible mistakes,” Gillis said in his apology note.
“I would like to apologize to anyone who is actually offended by anything I've said.” “My intention is never to hurt anyone, but I'm trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires taking risks.”