Harley-Davidson's New 'Very Manly' Budweiser Ad Mocked

A new commercial advertising Budweiser's recently unveiled Harley-Davidson-themed cans has been mocked online by conservative detractors, amid continued furor and boycotts aimed at the beer company.

In mid-May, new Budweiser cans were unveiled featuring logos from the beer brand and Harley-Davidson to commemorate the motorcycle manufacturer's 120th anniversary. The designs are inspired by original hand-drawn blueprints from each of the brands, according to Beverage Industry.

However, the cans—which include the words "Kings of our Craft" and "Brewed and built in the USA"—ignited further furor from a number of conservative detractors who over the past several weeks have been boycotting Bud Light.

Bud Light was initially targeted in April for a small branded partnership it did with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The partnership drew condemnation from a number of conservative figures who issued calls for a boycott.

Amid the criticism and reports of plummeting sales, some Bud Light executives took a leave of absence, including marketing head Alissa Heinerscheid and Daniel Blake, who oversees marketing for Anheuser-Busch's mainstream brands.

As a result of the uproar, the timing of the release of Budweiser's Harley-Davidson's cans has been met with a wall of resistance—as has the corresponding commercial.

With rock music serving as the soundtrack, the ad shows a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and cans of Budweiser, as a gravelly-voiced narrator says: "The greatest legacies are built with grit and resilience. One detail at a time."

The ad concludes with the narrator stating of the limited edition Budweiser Harley-Davidson cans: "For those who give everything to their craft. This Bud's for you."

The video was met with mockery on Twitter, where Collin Rugg, co-owner of conservative commentary outlet Trending Politics, wrote: "Budweiser just came out with a new advertisement with Harley-Davidson. Anheuser-Busch wants you to know that they're SUPER MANLY now. Desperation mode."

"Budweiser teams up with Harley-Davidson for VERY manly new advert as owner Anheuser-Busch tries to recover," wrote another Twitter user.

Using similar wording, another commented that "Budweiser trying to recover and teams up with Harley Davidson in new advertising to attract 'manly' men. This Bud is a dud."

"They're trying to win the people back, but the customers aren't having it," tweeted another detractor. "Even Harley-Davidson is getting pushback because of this."

"Too late @budweiserusa," opined another. "Don't get dragged into this @harleydavidson. You will regret it! Some bad choices have lifelong effects."

Amid the flood of posts, a number of other Twitter users spoke out against the continued outrage directed at Budweiser.

Journalist Brian Krassenstein tweeted: "Conservatives are now attacking Anheuser Busch's new Harley Davidson and Budweiser commercial, saying that they are trying to be 'overly manly' in order to recover from the Dylan Mulvaney mess."

"Can't people relax?" he went on. "Why does everything everyone does have to be this BIG divisive catastrophe? Anheuser Busch advertises their products to people of all walks of life, whether gay, straight, bikers, doctors, transgender individuals, white, Black, Jewish, Irish, etc.

"Are Americans so bored and needing a fight that they have to make big deals out of tiny little things? What if we all spent our time being productive and helping to unite people rather than being outraged about things that really don't make a difference?"

"Why does doing maintenance on a motorcycle have to be 'manly' anyway?" asked another Twitter user. "Can't we push back against it and argue that it is not only a Cisman's club; anyone can remove a gas cap or check tire pressure? It's not rocket science."

"Ironic how loud they cry about companies stoking the very culture wars they themselves are so committed to," said another. "It's their overreaction to fairly innocuous marketing that's fanning the flames. If nothing else, American conservatives are good at projecting their own faults on others."

Wrote another: "In the continuing search to find something to be p***** off about, conservatives are now sniveling at Budweiser for being (checks notes) 'Overly Manly.' Sweet Jesus there is no happiness in these people, is there."

Despite the furor, Harley-Davidson has so far continued to build on its social media following, even if by relatively modest margins. In a recent block of 30 days—up to and including May 25—the brand's Instagram followers went up by 1,920 to hold its 5.5 million audience count steady, per SocialBlade. In that period, 212 extra users followed the company's Twitter account, adding to its tally of more than 489,000.

Notably, Harley-Davidson has not posted the Budweiser partnership on its social media accounts. The Budweiser Instagram account has shared multiple images of its limited edition Harley-Davidson-themed cans.

While things are holding steady for Harley-Davidson on social media, Bud Light is still locked in something of a PR crisis. In recent weeks, a number of social media users have shared photos and videos of Bud Light on store shelves and at venues in a bid to illustrate the purported success of their boycott of the beer brand.

The Bud Light backlash has spilled beyond social media criticism and boycotts while a bomb squad was recently dispatched to an Anheuser-Busch facility in Los Angeles following a threatening email.

An Anheuser-Busch employee told Patch Media that other threats were made to facilities across the U.S. after Mulvaney's Bud Light post.

Newsweek has contacted representatives of Bud Light and Harley-Davidson via email for comment.