Budweiser's Fourth of July Message Sparks Furor—'Beyond Disgusting'

Budweiser has felt the backlash of social-media users after its Fourth of July ad was accused of being misogynistic and "disgusting."

It appears that Budweiser, owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, is still feeling some of the backlash originated by its sister beer Bud Light. After the brand briefly collaborated with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, some started to boycott Bud Light and other brands owned by parent company AB InBev.

It appears that, over three months later, the anger towards the company is still raw, with social-media users calling out Budweiser's latest ad campaign.

On July 4, Budweiser shared a 30-second ad that features members of the United States armed forces discussing the educational scholarship program Folds of Honor. "Budweiser has believed in Folds of Honor for 13 years. Today, we honor our veterans and the 44,000 scholarships awarded to their families," the voiceover on the ad says. "Service never stops, and neither will we."

Though the ad makes no mention of the recent controversy surrounding Bud Light, its collaboration with Mulvaney, or any other crossover with the LGBTQ+ community, the comments section was filled with furious replies.

"Using dead soldiers to try to dig back from sponsoring child drag shows and misogyny is beyond disgusting," wrote @ieDougMasters in response. AB InBev has not sponsored any child drag shows that Newsweek is aware of, but the user may be alluding to Bud Light's recent sponsorship of Toronto Pride, which sparked more criticism for the brand.

A number of users called the attempt by Budweiser to curry favor with beer drinkers through the ad as "too little, too late." Twitter user Jeffrey Floyd wrote, "Too late, Budweiser. Too late," while @Bill_Fowler_ posted, "You're ruined."

Meanwhile other social-media users simply wrote one-word replies such as, "Apologize." This pointed out that AB InBev CEO Michel Doukeris has yet to issue a public apology for the collaboration with Mulvaney.

On April 14, Bud Light CEO Brendan Whitworth responded to the controversy with a statement: "We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.

"We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer," he added.

In Budweiser's tweet alongside the video, the company wrote that it's "proud" to work with Folds of Honor, but Twitter user MJay Cannon didn't believe the brand: "No you're not. This shoulda been the first choice not Dylan you're using this now to save face."

The comments criticizing Bud Light, Budweiser, AB InBev and Mulvaney weren't restricted to Twitter. The Fourth of July ad was first posted on YouTube on June 27, and the harsh comments have been flooding in ever since.

"No one actually serving, or who probably serves, wants anything to do with this morally bankrupt company," wrote YouTube user @MrPetewhiteman. "It's not a boycott, it's banishment," posted @nannan3347.

Many other comments on both Twitter and YouTube alluded to AB InBev's recent loss in profits after the boycotts. Recent figures showed weekly year over year sales were down by 31.3 percent compared to 2022.

Newsweek has reached out to Anheuser-Busch InBev and Budweiser for further comment via email.