It’s been nearly a year since Bud Light’s ill-fated partnership with Dylan Mulvaney ignited one of the most devastating boycotts in corporate history. And while Mulvaney is floating through the Caribbean on a cruise ship, reveling in her status as a cultural lightning rod, Bud Light is still scrambling to win back the customers it lost.
Mulvaney, now promoting a memoir titled Paper Doll: Notes From a Late Bloomer, appears unfazed by the controversy. Her rise to fame—fueled by TikTok videos documenting her transition—turned her into both an LGBTQ+ icon and a flashpoint in the culture war. But in Mulvaney’s mind, the Bud Light fiasco was just a “chapter” in her life story, a stepping stone to what she really wants: Broadway stardom.
For Bud Light, however, the saga has been anything but a passing moment. Sales remain 25-30% below where they were at this time in 2022. A brand that once dominated the American beer market has been hemorrhaging customers for months. The Mulvaney partnership, which was meant to be a harmless social media tie-in, instead alienated Bud Light’s core customer base—working-class Americans who weren’t interested in being lectured to about gender identity while cracking open a cold one.
Now, Anheuser-Busch is trying yet another rebranding effort, this time by aligning itself with the most American thing possible: the NFL. The company’s new ad campaign stars Peyton Manning and Emmitt Smith—two undisputed football legends—handing out Bud Lights at a bar. It’s a clear attempt to rekindle its relationship with everyday sports fans, many of whom turned their backs on the brand after the Mulvaney controversy.
“Experiencing the playoffs or the Super Bowl is a special moment for a fan, and I’m happy that Emmitt and I get to be part of Bud Light’s mission to host their largest ever NFL postseason ticket giveaway,” Manning said in a statement.
But will it work?
Bud Light has tried multiple strategies to crawl out of this mess. First, it distanced itself from Mulvaney, practically pretending the partnership never happened. Then, it went all-in on blue-collar marketing, sponsoring rodeos, country concerts, and even the UFC. The message was clear: We’re the same beer we’ve always been! Please come back!
But here’s the problem—trust is hard to rebuild once it’s broken.
Customers didn’t just stop drinking Bud Light because of one social media campaign. They stopped because it was the final straw in a broader cultural trend where corporations prioritize politics over their actual consumers. Bud Light wasn’t just selling beer anymore—it was selling an ideology. And the response was swift and brutal.
Meanwhile, Mulvaney has moved on, fully embracing her role as a performer and celebrity. She doesn’t seem particularly concerned with Bud Light’s ongoing struggles. In fact, she barely acknowledges them in her interviews. For her, the controversy has been repurposed into stand-up material, memoir content, and musical comedy performances on cruise ships.
But for Bud Light, the reckoning isn’t over.
This latest pivot—aligning with the NFL—might help, but it won’t erase what happened. Manning and Smith are household names, but even they may not be enough to convince millions of former Bud Light drinkers to return. If Bud Light wants to recover, it’ll take more than just big-name endorsements. It’ll take time, humility, and a genuine understanding of why its customer base felt betrayed in the first place.
