This can happen when "managers" live in a microcosm of "cultural elite" and don't know their customer, at all.
So, I don't think this is the case. Honestly, this whole thing doesn't say a whole ton about AB. It says a lot about where the culture is, how we wear our politics, how we channel being offended. It also says something about the flavor of Bud Light and beer in general.
If you look at this kerfuffle, the two offending points are a one-off influencer promotion (with someone you likely didn't know unless you were on Gen Z social media) and an out of context quote on a podcast that could be read in a way that offended. That's it. This is far from the most militantly "woke" thing Bud Light has done. If it was simply that, people would've noticed and packed up a long time ago.
But we're living in a certain age where we are extremely politics forward. We let our politics dictate our lifestyles. We often treat our politics like boosters treat their teams. Watching Bud Light sales crater has been like watching a scoreboard. People are taking their low-stakes financial choices as a chance to make a statement.
And it's borne from a kind of offense that seemed to be a little directionless. The desire for being offended needs something to be offended by. This specific event is for the most part a case of good influencer work (from folks who taste make in that space of being offended). In a logical world, Bud Light would've driven away conservatives long ago, but I think people on both sides were different iin approach a few years ago. In this case, a couple small pieces of info made it to the right information bloodstreams during a moment when nothing else was top of mind. And thus, Bud Light got sucked up into the cancel culture jet engine.
Bud light was particularly vulnerable for two reasons. The first is that beers are very substitutable, and light beers are especially so. There's very little compelling difference between Bud Light, Coors Light and Miller Lite. Bud Light's dominance was also weak because it was built on being bland and plain. There's a joke that in movies people will just go up and order "a beer," despite that not being a thing you can do. But Bud Light was that beer. A near-faceless placeholder.
The whole thing also gave rise to two myths. 1. Bud light was in good shape before this. It was an ailing brand, losing market share, with young people not picking it up and seltzers eating into the market. The losses it's taken were accelerated, but they were coming. 2. There's this idea Bud Light was the beer of "frat boys, muscle meat heads, rednecks, and sports bros." As far as I can tell, it was a beer mostly for old people and cheap people. Its ads didn't radiate manliness. No one identified with the Bud Light night. But the thing about being a cheap but not too cheap beer is the price point is low enough, even the slightest shift in preference is gonna crush you. And boy has it.
