A former executive for Anheuser-Busch argued on Monday that one of its biggest brands, Bud Light, has not “done a good job” in winning back the hearts of consumers after a rough year in 2023.
Anson Frericks, a former president of operations for Anheuser-Busch, explained that the reason the brand is still having trouble winning back customers is because Anheuser-Busch has not asked the customers “to come back to them.” It comes as Bud Light just released a lengthy Super Bowl ad that aired to a massive audience on Sunday night.
“They haven’t done a good job of climbing out of this ditch at all,” Frericks said on Fox Business’s Cavuto: Coast to Coast. “You still have sales that are down 30% week over week, and that’s despite them last summer spending three times their planned marketing budget on Bud Light.”
The beer brand has underperformed financially over the last year following the partnership that Bud Light did with transgender social media personality Dylan Mulvaney in late March of 2023. Since then, the brand has tried to reshape its image, partnering with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and football legends Emmitt Smith and Peyton Manning.
The ad that aired during the 2024 Super Bowl focused on “the Bud Light genie” granting various wishes, and featured cameo appearances of Manning and UFC President Dana White. While Frericks argued that Bud Light still has not restored its trust with consumers, he did acknowledge that the ad was “pretty decent.”
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Former President Donald Trump generated discussion online when he called Bud Light’s partnership with Mulvaney a “mistake of epic proportions,” which the brand paid “a very big price” for. However, he argued that Anheuser-Busch is “not a Woke company,” and suggested that the company be given “a second chance.”
In November, Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris cited a poll that said 40% of former Bud Light consumers were willing to buy the drink again, adding that the company is “committed to continue to invest in Bud Light.”
