Current:Home > BackBud Light slips again, falling behind Modelo and Michelob Ultra after boycott-InfoLens
Bud Light slips again, falling behind Modelo and Michelob Ultra after boycott
View Date:2024-12-23 15:39:10
More than a year after a consumer boycott drained the sales of what was once the nation’s most popular beer, Bud Light still has a hangover.
New sales data show Bud Light has slipped in the rankings behind Modelo Especial and Michelob Ultra.
Modelo Especial – a Mexican import sold by Constellation Brands that is the official beer sponsor for Team USA in the Olympics – stole Bud Light’s crown as the No. 1 selling beer at grocery and convenience stores across the country in May 2023 amid fallout over a promotional campaign with a transgender influencer. Now Michelob Ultra – also brewed by Anheuser-Busch – has overtaken Bud Light in the No. 2 spot.
Bud Light represented 6.5% of beer dollar sales in U.S. stores in the four weeks ended July 6, behind 9.7% for Modelo Especial and 7.3% for Michelob Ultra and, according to an analysis of NielsenIQ data from Bump Williams.
Modelo’s rise was accelerated by a conservative backlash when Dylan Mulvaney posted an Instagram video about a personalized beer can that Bud Light had sent her as a gift.
“While dollar sales aren’t quite back into the ‘positive’ yet, the declines for the brand have improved dramatically and retailer support continues to improve week after week,” the consulting firm’s CEO Bump Williams told USA TODAY.
He also said that "retailer support" continued to improve "week after week."
Target Bud Light backlashExpect fewer rainbow logos for LGBTQ Pride Month
Anheuser-Busch issued a statement that Bud Light “will always be a mainstay of our iconic portfolio.”
“Millions of consumers choose Bud Light every day and we continue to invest in partnerships with the NFL, UFC, and renowned musicians,” the company said.
Major brands such as Bud Light and Target came under attack during Pride Month that year for marketing and merchandise celebrating the LGBTQ community. Sales tumbled and Bud Light lost its status as the nation’s top-selling beer. It remained a target of online attacks for the rest of the year.
The strategy to crush so-called rainbow capitalism by branding companies as “woke” became known as Bud Lighting.
In February, former president Donald Trump urged his supporters to give Bud Light a “second chance” because Anheuser-Busch is not “a Woke company.”
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Biden, Harris participate in Veterans Day ceremony | The Excerpt
- Historians race against time — and invasive species — to study Great Lakes shipwrecks
- Former President Jimmy Carter makes appearance at peanut festival ahead of his 99th birthday
- WEOWNCOIN: The Decentralized Financial Revolution of Cryptocurrency
- Mike Tyson concedes the role of villain to young foe in 58-year-old’s fight with Jake Paul
- McDonald's faces another 'hot coffee' lawsuit. Severely burned woman sues over negligence
- South Korea breezes through first day of League of Legends competition in Asian Games esports
- WEOWNCOIN︱Exploring the Rise of Digital Gold in Cryptocurrency Assets
- Agents search home of ex-lieutenant facing scrutiny as police probe leak of school shooting evidence
- Ukraine is building an advanced army of drones. For now, pilots improvise with duct tape and bombs
Ranking
- NFL MVP rankings: Does Steelers QB Russell Wilson deserve any consideration?
- Wait, who dies in 'Expendables 4'? That explosive ending explained. (Spoilers!)
- The Halloween Spirit: How the retailer shows up each fall in vacant storefronts nationwide
- Trump criticized by rivals for calling 6-week abortion ban a terrible thing
- FSU football fires offensive, defensive coordinators, wide receivers coach
- College football Week 4 grades: Clemsoning is back. Give Clemson coach Dabo Swinney an F.
- Facial recognition technology jailed a man for days. His lawsuit joins others from Black plaintiffs
- Bad Bunny and Kendall Jenner continue to fuel relationship rumors at Milan Fashion Week
Recommendation
-
Brush fire erupts in Brooklyn's iconic Prospect Park amid prolonged drought
-
RYDER CUP ’23: A look inside the walls of the 11th-century Marco Simone castle
-
Costco recalls roughly 48,000 mattresses after over 500 customers report mold growth
-
Jailed Kremlin critic transferred to a prison in Siberia, placed in ‘punishment cell,’ lawyer says
-
A pair of Trump officials have defended family separation and ramped-up deportations
-
Pakistani journalist who supported jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan is freed by his captors
-
After lots of interest in USWNT job, US Soccer zeroing in on short list for new coach
-
Who won? When is the next draw? What to know about Powerball this weekend