TheQuartering [5/9/2023]
The CEO of Anheuser-Busch has continued to deflect blame for the Dylan Mulvaney fiasco, and claims social media ‘misinformation’ triggered the boycott of Bud Light, sending sales crashing 26 percent.
Michel Doukeris doubled down on his claims that transgender TikToker Dylan Mulvaney was never a partner with the American beer company and said cans featuring her face were never going to be on sale for the general public.
He blamed ‘misinformation and disinformation’ that was spread online for making people believe cans with Mulvaney’s face were being rolled out for sale across the US, when only one souvenir can had been produced and sent to the influence to mark the one year anniversary of her transition from male-to-female.
It is just the latest excuse Anheuser-Busch executives have made for the calamitous advertisements, after previously saying it was created by an outside ad agency and nobody in the company were aware of the campaign — despite two of Bud Light’s marketing executives stepping down in the aftermath.
Doukeris told the Financial Times over the weekend: ‘People often talk about this topic in social media like noise.
‘You have one fact and every person puts an opinion behind the fact. And then the opinions start to be replicated fast on each and every comment.
‘By the time that 10 or 20 people put a comment out there, the reality is no longer what the fact is, but is more (about) what the comments were.’
The global CEO added: ‘We never intended to make it for general production and sale for the public…it was one post. It was not an advertisement.’
Explaining what he claims happened as the ‘misinformation’ took hold, Doukas continued: ‘But as the rumor that it was a campaign spread, he said, there were videos of billboards showing the Dylan Mulvaney can digitally and ’10 million people [were] watching and commenting.’
‘That had nothing to do with Bud Light, it was just like pure social media creation,’ he said.
The comments came just one week after Doukeris told investors: ‘We need to clarify the facts that this was one camp, one influencer, one post and not a campaign.
‘We will continue to learn, meet the moment in time, all be stronger and we work tirelessly to do what we do best: Bring people together over a beer and creating a future of more cheers.’
But in a letter sent to retailers, bars and restaurants by Grey Eagle — which distributes Anheuser-Busch products around St. Louis — executives said the advertisement campaign was created and approved by an outside ad agency partnering with Bud Light.
It read: ‘Anheuser-Busch did not intend to create controversy or make a political statement.
‘In reality, the Bud Light can posted by a social media influencer that sparked all the conversation was provided by an outside agency without Anheuser-Busch management awareness or approval.