Bud Light ‘betting’ customers will ‘forget’ Dylan Mulvaney controversy: Frericks
Former Anheuser-Busch executive Anson Frericks weighs in on the Bud Light marketing executive taking a leave of absence following calls to boycott the brand.
Bud Light‘s marketing VP, Alissa Heinerscheid, has reportedly taken a leave of absence following worldwide calls to boycott the formerly beloved beer. She is being replaced by Budweiser global marketing vice president Todd Allen, AdAge reports.
The company has also hired two consultants with experience in Washington, D.C.'s, conservative circles to advise the brand moving forward.
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Former Anheuser-Busch executive Anson Frericks reacted to the decision during an appearance on "Fox & Friends Weekend," arguing that counting on conservative consumers to forget the controversy is the "wrong bet to make."
"That's the bet they're making. I think that's the wrong bet to make. And I think now is the time to go back and, for companies like Anheuser-Busch, to say that, 'Hey, moving forward for brands like Bud Light, we're not going to be political. We're not going to get involved in the environmental social governance movement because that's not what the customer wants,'" Frericks told co-host Will Cain on Sunday.
The controversy began when the brand sent transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney a personalized pack of beer that featured her likeness as part of an ad for the company's March Madness contest and to celebrate one year since Mulvaney began identifying as a woman.
Mulvaney gained notoriety after interviewing President Joe Biden on transgender issues in October. During the interview, Biden said didn't believe states should restrict "gender-affirming health care."
"Anheuser-Busch has to choose who it's going to be accountable to."
Frericks, who worked for Anheuser-Busch for more than a decade, said that the formerly traditional "apolitical brand" became engrossed in controversy when investment companies started pushing it to be accountable to "all these so-called stakeholders, political organizations, activist organizations."
"There's a more fundamental problem that's going on right now where Anheuser-Busch has to choose who it's going to be accountable to. … Will it be its shareholders? Or its so-called stakeholders? Let me explain. Historically, Anheuser-Busch has been accountable to its shareholders, which are people like firefighters, doctors, lawyers that invested in companies like Anheuser-Busch via 401(K)s or their pension plans," he said.
"Over the last couple of years, there's been organizations like BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard that have pushed this new model of stakeholder capitalism, asking companies like Anheuser-Busch to be accountable to all these so-called stakeholders, political organizations, activist organizations. And they do that by implementing ESG, or environmental social governance policies, in corporations that ask them to get involved in these controversial issues. But unfortunately, when you try to be everything to everyone, you end up being accountable to no one."
The former Anheuser-Busch executive urged Bud Light to remind itself what its historically loyal customers want.
"What the customer wants with Bud Light is they want to have things that bring us together. They want humor. They want the 'Dilly Dilly' guys. They want football. They want the things that bind us together as co-equal citizens here, not necessarily having Bud Light get involved in political controversies that tear us apart. Heck, this is one of the most apolitical brands out there, shared by Democrats and Republicans alike," Frericks said.
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FOX Business' Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report.