Two marketing executives from Anheuser-Busch are now on leaves of absence as the backlash over the company’s sponsorship of transgender-identifying social media personality Dylan Mulvaney continues.
News broke on April 21 that Bud Light’s vice president of marketing Alissa Heinerscheid would step away from her position as a result of the outrage and boycott. Anheuser-Busch announced on April 24 that Daniel Blake, who leads the marketing efforts for marketing for the company’s other brands including Budweiser and Bud Light, has also gone on leave.
“Blake, who is based in New York, was promoted to group vice president of Anheuser-Busch’s mainstream brands in May 2022, according to his LinkedIn page. Before that, he was group VP of marketing for Budweiser and value brands,” per The Daily Mail. “Two months ago, he announced a ‘new era for Bud Light’ as he shared an article about the beer’s ‘sophisticated’ decision to feature a female main character in its Super Bowl ad.”
Prior to striking a deal with Mulvaney, Heinerscheid told the “Make Yourself at Home” podcast in March that her job was to update the Bud Light brand and, specifically, to move away from what she called its “fratty” associations.
“I’m a businesswoman. I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light. It was, this brand is in decline, it’s been in decline for a really long time, and if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand, there will be no future for Bud Light,” said the Havard graduate, per National Review.
Heinerscheid said that “representation is sort of at the heart of evolution, you have got to see people who reflect you in the work.”
“We had this hangover, I mean Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach,” she said.
Mulvaney, who is known for discussing changing genders on TikTok, appeared in an advertisement video for the beer, sitting in a bathtub filled with beer cans, to mark “365 Days of Girlhood.” Mulvaney shared the videos with the tag “#budlightpartner.”
The advertisement prompted a nationwide boycott of Anheuser-Busch products among conservative politicians and voters.
Former global vice president of Budweiser Todd Allen has been tapped to take over Heinerscheid. A replacement for Blake has not been announced.
“Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics,” an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson told reporters, per The New York Post. “From time to time we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.”
