Bud Light draws backlash after promoting trans activist Dylan Mulvaney, but marketing pros say it’s a smart move

When trans activist and actress Dylan Mulvaney shared this past weekend on social media that she was featured in a Bud Light promotion, it prompted transphobic backlash from many conservative commentators and fans of the beer alike.

One commentator wrote: “Who the hell at @budlight thought it was a good idea to make a grown man who dresses like little girls their new spokesperson?”

And Kid Rock, the musical artist known for his conservative views, made his opinion about the situation abundantly clear: He posted a tweet with a video that showed him shooting up some cases of Bud Light with a machine gun. He ended the video by saying, “F–k Bud Light.”

This isn’t the first time a major brand has found itself in such a situation. Just last month, Hershey’s, arguably the biggest name in chocolate, faced a similar response after its Canadian division featured a trans woman as part of a campaign. In Hershey’s case, there were even calls from critics to boycott the brand.

All of which raises the question: Why are major brands mounting such campaigns, given their potential to alienate some customers? Is it about supporting the trans community, a group that has faced enormous persecution, or are there also other reasons?

Marketing experts say the brands do look to be supportive, but they also see these campaigns as ways to tap into a different audience — one that goes beyond the trans community. They fully understand they may offend some customers along the way, but they see a larger payoff in the end.

“They’ve made the calculations,” said Matthew Berman, the chief executive of Emerald Digital, a marketing company based in New York and New Orleans.

Bud Light is an established brand that likely appeals to an older demographic, Berman noted. By working with Mulvaney, whose Instagram post showed her holding Bud Light cans featuring her image, the brand — which is part of the Anheuser-Busch family — could be aiming to appeal to a younger, Gen Z demographic that is often supportive of the trans community, Berman said.

Anheuser-Busch isn’t denying that point. In a statement to MarketWatch, a company spokesperson said: “Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics.”

The spokesperson added that the commemorative can with Mulvaney’s image is not available to the general public, but was “a gift to celebrate a personal milestone.” Mulvaney, who didn’t respond to a MarketWatch request for comment, recently marked what she billed as 365 “days of being a girl.”

Marketing expert Thomas Donohoe, author of “The CEO’s Digital Marketing Playbook,” said Bud Light’s strategy speaks to the way brands are starting to think in an age of multiple media outlets. A couple of generations ago, brands had limited options to promote themselves, with broadcast television being the biggest, Donohoe noted.

Now brands can target messages to specific communities over specific platforms, he added, as Bud Light did in reaching out to Mulvaney, who in turn touted the brand over Instagram.

And while the brand might risk losing some customers with its Mulvaney promotion, Donohoe said this will be seen as a smart move years from now — with the idea that the trans community will become more widely accepted over time and will no longer face the prejudice it does today.

Donohoe added that it’s no different from how brands now feature other minority groups, such as the gay community, as part of campaigns in a way they didn’t generations ago.

“In 20 years, concerns like this are going to be laughed at,” Donohoe said of the fear of backlash.