Bud Light's Partnership With Band Slammed Amid Boycott

Bud Light's competition partnership with country-music band Midland has been met with criticism and derision on Twitter amid an ongoing boycott of the beer brand.

A message was shared on Bud Light's account on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday, advertising a contest for patrons to win a pair of tickets to see Midland perform in Oklahoma City on August 15. However, the post was met with a tepid response.

The beer brand has been under fire since the beginning of April, when transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney unveiled a small partnership with the Anheuser-Busch InBev brand. In a video posted to Instagram on April 1, Mulvaney said Bud Light had sent her a can with her face on it to commemorate her 365 days living as a woman.

Mulvaney's partnership with Bud Light drew condemnation and boycott calls. Musicians Kid Rock, Travis Tritt and John Rich were also among those who spoke out against the brand after the collaboration. Meanwhile, some in the LGBTQ+ community criticized the company for not defending its ties with Mulvaney.

Since the calls for a boycott began almost four months ago, Bud Light has seen a drop-off in domestic sales. Revenue remains consistently below what it was at the same time in 2022. The company has also lost its crown as America's most-popular beer, with Mexican rival Modelo Especial now in the U.S. top spot.

In the face of its ongoing PR woes, Bud Light has continued to share social-media posts, with its contest to win tickets to see Midland being one of the most recent. The competition is part of the brand's Backyard Tour, which features shows with different bands across the U.S. on a variety of dates in August. Participating bands include OneRepublic, Dashboard Confessional, Bush, and Midland.

Touting the Midland show, a post shared on Bud Light's X account read: "Dust off the boots, because Midland is coming to Oklahoma City! Sign up for a chance to win tickets." The post had a link to the competition.

The post was met with a flood of negative comments from X users, with one writing: "What group would sign up to be sponsored by a toxic brand? I don't know of Midland but I assume they need exposure or publicity. Contrary to belief, bad publicity is NOT [better] than any publicity at all."

"Just cancelled my tickets!" an X subscriber commented. "@budlight being the sponsor...I am OUT!!! Refund time!"

Another person responded by sharing a clip of two Bud Light bottles—described as "a few stragglers in the basement fridge"—being smashed with a brick.

While the majority of the comments toward Bud Light appeared to be negative, some X users expressed their excitement over the competition.

Thanking Bud Light, one wrote that they had "won tickets to see OneRepublic."

"Keep it coming, Bud! Love you guys!" read another post.

Over the past several weeks, a number of social-media users have shared photos and videos of unsold Bud Light on store shelves and at venues. This has been done in a bid to illustrate the purported success of the boycott of the beer brand.

Bud Light has implemented a variety of strategies to boost sales in recent weeks, such as offering steep rebates that made the beer free or nearly so in some areas.

On June 29, Mulvaney accused Anheuser-Busch InBev, of turning "a blind eye" to the transphobic attacks she endured after her collaboration with the brand.

In a TikTok post captioned "Trans people like beer too," Mulvaney accused the brewery giant of not reaching out to her at the height of the criticism.

"I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did. And for months now, I've been scared to leave my house," Mulvaney said. "I have been ridiculed in public. I've been followed. And I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn't wish on anyone. If this is my experience from a very privileged perspective, know that it is much, much worse for other trans people."

Mulvaney added: "For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse in my opinion than not hiring a trans person at all because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want. And the hate doesn't end with me. It has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community. And we're customers, too. I know a lot of trans and queer people who love beer."

Newsweek has contacted a representative of Bud Light via email for comment.