Michael Lamar, owner of Mike’s Gemini Twin Lounge, talks in The Bottom Line about how Bud Light’s partnership with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney has caused sales to plummet.
Budweiser has released a new patriotic ad as the parent company grapples with controversy over its endorsement partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The ad, released on social media on Friday, features one of Budweiser’s famous Clydesdale horses traversing the country from New York City to the Grand Canyon, driving past scenes in America’s heartland while a narrator delivers a patriotic message .
“This is a story bigger than beer,” the ad’s narrator says in the ad. “This is the history of the American spirit.”
As the commercial plays, the Clydesdale horse rides past some of America’s most famous landmarks, showcasing the New York City skyline, Washington DC’s Lincoln Memorial, small towns and farmlands. At one point, the ad shows two people raising an American flag while one puts her hand on her heart.
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The Budweiser Clydesdale horses. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“Brewed for those who found opportunity in the challenge and hope for tomorrow,” says the ad’s narrator as the horse drives past the flag-raising duo and the Lincoln Memorial.
The patriotic ad comes as Anheuser-Busch, which owns Budweiser, continues to grapple with backlash over a partnership between another of its popular brands, Bud Light, and Mulvaney.
Anheuser-Busch has taken a financial hit as calls to boycott its brands circulated across the country. A Missouri bar owner told Fox Business last week that sales of bottled Bud Light are down 30%, while sales of draft beer are down 50%.
Cans of Budweiser and Bud Light are on a shelf for sale in a supermarket. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images/Getty Images)
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Budweiser’s famous Clydesdales, which have been a staple of the company’s advertising for decades, have also found themselves at the center of the controversy. A Budweiser dealership in Missouri last week canceled all scheduled events to showcase the horses amid safety concerns for its employees, the New York Post reported.
“We will not comment on the issue … everything is still sensitive on social media,” a manager at the distributor told the Post.
Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth recently broke his silence on the issue on Friday, issuing a statement saying the company never intended to divide people.
Anheuser-Busch set social media ablaze as beer magnate Bud Light celebrated transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney’s “365 Days of Girlhood” with a polarizing promotion. (Instagram/Fox News)
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“We have thousands of partners, millions of fans, and a proud history of supporting our communities, the military, first responders, sports fans and hard-working Americans everywhere,” Whitworth said. “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
Anheuser-Busch did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment on the ad.