TheQuartering [8/4/2023]
Bud Light’s flatlining reputation has seen the once-favorite beer in America banished entirely from a bar in Buffalo, New York – because ‘no one’ is buying it.
Hilarious footage captured the moment the watering hole gave up with the brand, as a bartender untwisted the formerly iconic blue logo tap and replaced it with Miller Lite.
‘My local bar finally gave up and is removing Bud Light completely from the bar permanently,’ said YouTube personality and podcaster Daniel Keem, who posted the video to social media.
The clip, which has been viewed almost nine million times in two days, sees Keem laughing hysterically as he celebrates how ‘Bud Light is so boycotted that it’s being removed.’
‘Holy s*** that’s crazy,’ he added, questioning the bartender: ‘Literally nobody is ordering Bud anymore?’ to which she responds: ‘No.’
The move comes after the beer giant’s disastrous collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April, which sparked a financially devastating boycott that has seen parent-company Anheuser-Busch lose $27 billion in market cap.
Notably, the bartender opted to swap the Bud Light tap with Miller Lite, which is owned by Anheuser-Busch rival Molson Coors.
While anecdotal, the footage is telling over the dramatic fallout from the Dylan Mulvaney marketing, as the once-beloved Bud Light has lost its top spot as America’s favorite beer.
While Modelo snatched the title almost two months ago, other competitors such as Peroni, Coors and Blue Moon, owned by Molson Coors, have also benefited.
When the company overtook Bud Light, the falling brand saw a 22.8 percent fall in sales compared the same time the year before, in the four weeks ending May 28.
It was the first time Bud Light wasn’t the best-selling beer in the country since 2001.
The abysmal sales have since stretched through the summer, leading parent-company Anheuser-Busch to begin plans to lay off hundreds of employees to counter their plummeting bottom line.
The company announced its decision to lay off about 2 percent of its US workforce in a statement released by Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth Wednesday.
‘Today we took the very difficult but necessary decision to eliminate a number of positions across our corporate organization,’ Whitworth said.
‘While we never take these decisions lightly, we want to ensure that our organization continues to be set for future long-term success.’
Workers who are laid off will receive severance pay, paid out of their unused vacation time, receive six months of continued company-paid health insurance benefits and help finding a new job, according to an email sent to employees Wednesday.
The restructuring ‘will simplify and reduce layers within its organization,’ a spokesperson said.