A Louisiana man is not letting the recent controversies detract from his love of Bud Light after he was recorded entering a store and brazenly walking out with three cases of America’s former favorite beer.
The incident occurred Wednesday in Baton Rouge. The video shows the man strolling through the beer aisle of a store and then stopping suddenly when he notices the Bud Light.
He enters the cooler and goes off camera only to reemerge seconds later with the brews. The suspect left without paying, sheriff’s deputies said. Earlier this week, it was reported that the beer was cheaper than water in some stores.
From there, surveillance video showed him putting the beer in the back of his four-door sedan and then speeding away from the scene.
The unidentified suspect is a black male wearing a red t-shirt with the word Castle on the front and Crooks on the back, he was also wearing black pants and black shoes.
The suspect, clad in a shirt reading ‘Crooks,’ walks through the beer aisle but stops suddenly when he sees his favorite beer
The man disappears into the cooler for a moment, bypassing America’s current favorite beer, Modelo, to grab his brews
He then brazenly leaves the store clutching three cases of Bud Light
Sheriff’s deputies say the man put the beer into his silver sedan and sped away from the scene
Last month, it was revealed that Budweiser had dropped to second in the rankings of America’s favorite beers.
Modelo Especial, a Mexican lager, overtook Bud Light in U.S. retail dollar sales in the month ending June 3, according to Nielsen data analyzed by Bump Williams Consulting.
Modelo controlled 8.4 percent of US grocery, convenience and liquor store sales; Bud Light fell to 7.3 percent.
Grupo Modelo, the Mexican brewer, is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the same parent company of Bud Light.
It’s a milestone in Bud Light’s months-long sales decline since early April, when critics who were angered by the brewer sending a commemorative can to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney vowed to boycott the brand.
Bud Light has also faced backlash from Mulvaney’s fans, who think the brand didn’t do enough to support her.
Dave William, Bump Williams’ vice president of analytics and insights, said Bud Light has been the top-selling U.S. beer since 2001, and it could still retain that crown this year.
He noted that Bud Light’s year-to-date market share of 9 percent is still outpacing Modelo’s, at 8 percent. And Bud Light’s sales volumes are higher.
Following the scandal involving Mulvaney, the influencer said that she felt abandoned by Bud Light adding that the fallout left her facing ‘more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined.’
Sales of Bud Light continue to plummet. Figures have gotten incrementally worse since the beginning of the brand’s controversy in April
In a TikTok video, she said she ‘was waiting for the brand to reach out to me. But they never did.’ She said she should have spoken out sooner but was afraid and hoped things would get better — but they didn’t.
‘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.’
Anheuser-Busch didn’t directly respond to Mulvaney in a statement the company released. But it said it remains ‘committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community.’
Conservative figures and others called for a boycott of Bud Light, while Mulvaney’s supporters criticized the beer brand for not doing enough to support her.
Since then, two marketing executives at parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev took a leave of absence.
Other companies, including Starbucks and Target, have recently come under fire for their efforts to appeal to the LGBTQ+ community, especially during June’s Pride celebrations, only to face more outcry when they tried to back pedal.
The clashes come amid a furious and fast-spreading debate over the rights of transgender people. At least 17 states have enacted laws restricted or banning gender-affirming care for minors, most since the start of this year.
Cases of Bud Light have remained fully stocked on grocery store shelves across the country since April
Even eye-popping price drops have not been able to move cases of the beer
Anti-Bud Light beer graffiti is seen scrawled on a gate on June 21, 2023 in Arco, Idaho
Just this week, Bud Light has faced a fresh round of criticism after the brewer was viewed as desperate following a new round of ads with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce.
The ad, titled ‘Backyard Grunts with Travis Kelce,’ appears to be an attempt to claw back male drinkers turned off by its recent marketing choices. Kelce is pictured attending a BBQ with several other men, satirically grunting as they slowly recline in their seats and crack open a beer.
‘I don’t understand how this appeals to Bud Light’s target market, transgender youth,’ one viewer commented on the YouTube video.
‘Man Bud Light is going for the death blow at this point,’ one commenter wrote. ‘This is what they think of their client base, stupid grunting cavemen.’
‘I’m actually embarrassed for Bud Light at this point,’ another viewer said.
A third commented: ‘This has become a complete joke….just take it off the shelf already we’re not coming back!!’
‘Even in the commercial people don’t want to drink bud light,’ one wrote.
‘Never will I ever…. Buy a Budweiser- Busch product AGAIN. EVER.’
‘Sorry there Bud. The only thing that would be close to bringing your base customers back is an unconditional apology and a renounce of woke culture!’ said one viewer.
Kelce’s appearance in the advert was also met with backlash, with one commenter slamming him for being a ‘sell out’.
‘Not rooting for Kelce again,’ they said. ‘Will never buy another Anheuser Busch product ever again.’
