Bud Light ‘betting’ its customers will ‘forget’ Mulvaney controversy: Frericks
Former Anheuser-Busch executive Anson Frericks weighs in on the Bud Light marketing executive taking a leave of absence following calls to boycott the brand.
The former president of Anheuser-Busch Sales and Distribution Co., Anson Frericks, urges the current CEO of the beer company, Brendan Whitworth, to step down from his position for how he has botched, and continues to botch, the Bud Light situation involving transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
In a column for the Daily Mail, Frericks said Whitworth needs to leave before doing more damage to the brand that has already lost billions of dollars in market value. All of this happened in the wake of Anheuser-Busch brand Bud Light making the trans influencer one of its spokespeople in April.
Frericks accused Whitworth of botching multiple opportunities to right his company’s ship in the wake of the boycott and said it would be better for the company’s shareholders to compel him to leave rather than staying and offering more "bland" responses to Anheuser-Busch’s current PR crisis.
Frericks said, "Whitworth has clearly shown himself to be incapable of solving the Mulvaney crisis. He's had multiple chances, and he's failed."
BUD LIGHT TO SPEND ‘HEAVILY’ ON MARKETING AFTER DYLAN MULVANEY CONTROVERSY: REPORT
Former Anheuser-Busch executive Anson Frericks recently urged Anheuser-Busch’s current CEO, Brendan Whitworth, to step down from the company for how he has handled the Dylan Mulvaney controversy. (Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket)
The piece began with Frericks noting the monetary loss suffered by his former company in the wake of the Mulvaney partnership.
"After all, the beer company's decision to make trans-activist Dylan Mulvaney the face of Bud Light has cost a staggering $20 billion – and counting – in lost market cap value," he wrote.
He mentioned how Mulvaney blasted the beer brand this week in an Instagram post (in that clip, the trans influencer ripped Bud Light for not showing enough support for Mulvaney amidst the backlash), adding that "Mulvaney did something Whitworth should have had the wisdom to do weeks ago – cut ties."
The former executive said Whitworth’s response to the Mulvaney issue "was predictably weak and indecisive" and that Whitworth’s statement that the company "will focus on what we do best – brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter to our consumers" meant "absolutely nothing."
Frericks added, "And it will only deepen the chasm between the brand and its customers."
The former Anheuser-Busch executive then said, "As such – and I take no pleasure in passing this judgment – it's clear to me that it's time for the shareholders and board of Anheuser-Busch to ask Whitworth to step down."
He said it is necessary to hold the CEO accountable because his business decisions are now affecting other people whose livelihoods depend on the success of the brand.
"So I write this with a heavy heart, not out of spite but because it’s important for Americans to understand how and why corporate leaders can bungle the management of once-iconic American brands so badly, sacrificing countless jobs and invested assets in the process."
BUD LIGHT PARENT ANHEUSER-BUSCH TO HELP DISTRIBUTORS AMID MULVANEY CONTROVERSY
Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth declined to say in hindsight if he would allow Bud Light’s promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney to happen again during an appearance in "CBS Mornings." (CBS)
Frericks then went through the timeline of the ongoing Mulvaney-Bud Light controversy, criticizing Whitworth’s attempts to solve the issue throughout.
For example, he said, "On April 14th, Whitworth made his first attempt at addressing plunging sales with a flat corporate response that neither mentioned the specific controversy, nor apologized for it. Instead of helping, it made things even worse: inflaming both the customers who wanted an apology for the campaign – and those who were sympathetic to Mulvaney and wanted to see the company defend the influencer."
The former Anheuser-Busch leader also trashed both responses Whitworth made in June. Of the one Whitworth made on June 16, he wrote, "But this statement, as bland as the first, only announced additional investments in Bud Light’s summer marketing campaign, support for front line employees and a few weak platitudes telling consumers ‘we hear you’ and ‘here’s to a future with more cheers.’"
Frericks noted that after that statement, "Bud Light subsequently experienced its worst weekly sales numbers since the Mulvaney partnership."
He then detailed the remarks the CEO gave in a June 28 interview on "CBS Mornings," saying, "He made his first public appearance since the debacle on CBS Morning News where he was twice asked by hosts if he would send the can to Mulvaney again or if it had been a ‘mistake’. It was a softball question. He should have belted it out of the park."
Frericks added, "Yet both times he deflected, with a clearly rehearsed and evasive answer. He should have said: ‘Of course, it was a mistake. No, we wouldn't send the can again!’"
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He surmised that Whitworth gave such answers because "he’s been paralyzed by corporate America’s forced adoption of ‘stakeholder’ capitalism, which preaches to companies about why they must serve activists, politicians, non-governmental organizations and all manner of interests – anyone really apart from their shareholders and customers!"
He concluded, "Whitworth has clearly shown himself to be incapable of solving the Mulvaney crisis. He's had multiple chances and he's failed. It's time he did the right thing and stepped aside to make way for someone capable of righting the sinking Bud Light ship."
Fox News Digital reached out to Bud Light for response to Frericks’ criticism and is waiting for a response.
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