Budweiser Humiliated at Sturgis After Woke Company's Stunt to Win Back Fans Epically Backfires
The punishing conservative boycott of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light brand continues unabated, as the beer giant was unceremoniously blackballed at a major motorcycle event it sponsored in South Dakota.
The grim situation was captured in a TikTok video by user CycleDrag, who posted shocking footage Aug. 8, showing tent after tent with row after row of empty Budweiser booths that had been set up to promote the beer.
The TikTok video was shared on Twitter by a user who noted that there were “ZERO attendees at the Budweiser tent in Sturgis. This may be the BIGGEST marketing blunder of all time!”
The no-show was especially jarring because Budweiser was an official sponsor of this year’s City of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. So even when it lavishes money to woo customers to a free event, beer drinkers stayed away in droves.
ZERO attendees at the Budweiser tent in Sturgis
This may be the BIGGEST marketing blunder of all time! pic.twitter.com/iSNqTyyOgc
— Old Row (@OldRowOfficial) August 9, 2023
The incident underscores that consumers still have not forgiven Bud Light for its disastrous promotion lionizing transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney by putting his face on a can of its beer.
Before the Mulvaney debacle erupted this spring, Bud Light had been the nation’s top-selling beer for the past two decades. Since then, the beverage juggernaut’s sales and popularity have cratered.
CycleDrag posted a follow-up video Aug. 9 showing that Bud Light continued to be a pariah among consumers, as its booths and tents remained vacant and abandoned.
@cycledrag Here is an upate on the Budweiser tent at Sturgis mid week #budweiser #budlight #dylanmulvaney #sturgis #sturgisrally #motorcyclesoftiktok🏍️ #motorcyclelife #budlightboycott ♬ original sound – Cycledrag
The response in Sturgis sends an unequivocal message to Bud Light and other “woke” corporations that using their products to push left-wing propaganda is unacceptable to a large segment of consumers.
Numerous Twitter commenters mocked Bud Light for its self-created crisis, saying it’s learning the hard way what happens when corporations cavalierly wade into the culture wars.
WARNING: The following tweet contains vulgar language that some readers may find offensive.
Maybe the micro minority Dylan Mulvaney people will buy their shit beer and save buttweiser? Oh wait. 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/LoDfeGv3zH
— HOGG-MAN ⚒️ (@HOGGMAN_Memes) August 9, 2023
Brands should stay clear of 2 subjects.
Religion & Politics.
— Jason Barrett (@JasonDigital) August 10, 2023
Go woke go broke
— Eddie guerrero (@edcruzto9) August 10, 2023
It’s not going to blow over. It a dead beer brand.
— Thomas Kemmett🇺🇲 (@ThomasKemmett) August 10, 2023
At this point, it’s unclear whether Bud Light will recover from this costly blunder. By all indications, it seems unlikely — at least for the foreseeable future.
As corporations become more aggressive about weaving political messages into their ad campaigns, they should prepare for more intense backlashes from weary consumers who are fed up with the nonstop, inappropriate indoctrination. Just stop already.
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