Bud Light tried to stand for nothing. It lost $1.4 billion.
AB InBev's April 14, 2023 statement named no one. North American organic revenue fell by roughly $1.4 billion in 2023, and Modelo passed Bud Light. Neutral is still a position.
Transcript
$1.4 billion. That is roughly how much organic revenue AB InBev lost in North America in 2023. The damage came from what the company did next.
A Bud Light partnership with Dylan Mulvaney set off a boycott. After thirteen days of silence, on April 14, 2023, AB InBev's U.S. chief executive Brendan Whitworth issued a statement that never named Mulvaney, the partnership, or the boycott.
Its closest line: we never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. It did not stand with Mulvaney. It did not disown her. Conservative and LGBTQ+ groups both criticized it.
In the third quarter of 2023, AB InBev's U.S. revenue fell 13.5% and EBITDA fell 29.3%, primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light, in the company's own words.
By May and June 2023, Modelo had overtaken Bud Light in U.S. retail dollar sales, ending more than two decades of Bud Light as America's top-selling beer. A year on, AB InBev's U.S. revenue was still down 9.1%.
One case cannot show what defending or disowning would have cost. It does show that a statement built to offend no one can give both sides a reason to leave. Decide what you stand for before you have to say it.
The records behind this video
Every figure in the video comes from this Decision Record, each with its sources.
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