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For nearly two decades, Bud Light has reigned as America’s best-selling beer. However, its long-standing reign may be coming to an end. The brand faced a major setback in April when it announced a partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which triggered a significant anti-trans backlash. Kid Rock even filmed himself shooting at cases of Bud Light, further fueling the boycott. By June, Modelo Especial, a Mexican lager, claimed the top spot in retail sales, according to market research group NielsenIQ. This shift marked the official end of Bud Light’s dominance in the American beer market.
The success of the boycott was astonishing. Bud Light had enjoyed unparalleled popularity for years, and its sudden decline seemed unimaginable. However, the truth is that its position at the top was never as secure as it seemed, and the boycott simply accelerated an existing trend. The American beer landscape has changed tremendously, with the rise of over 9,500 craft breweries that specialize in producing flavorful IPAs and fruited sour ales, which stand in stark contrast to the light lagers that Bud Light represents. Additionally, the beer market faces fierce competition from cocktails, wine, spirits, and seltzers. Choosing a light lager is no longer the default option for many drinkers today, and even when it is, there is no inherent reason why Americans must favor Bud Light over similar, less exciting competitors.
“We have the most diverse collection of drinkers in the country’s history, who get to choose from the most diverse collection of beverage alcohol brands that have ever existed,” says Bryan Roth, editor of alcoholic-beverage newsletter Sightlines. If Bud Light doesn’t appeal to people, they have a plethora of other options to choose from.
Although beer has been fermented for centuries, American light beer only emerged in the early 1940s when Coors Brewing Company introduced Coors Light. However, it didn’t gain traction due to grain shortages during World War II. The true story of light beer began in the 1960s when Brooklyn’s Rheingold Brewery created a low-calorie, zero-carbohydrate beer using a process developed by Swiss chemist Hersch Gablinger. They named it Gablinger’s Beer, but it failed to resonate with consumers. In-house biochemist Joseph L. Owades then shared the recipe with Chicago’s Meister Bräu, resulting in “lusty, full strength” Meister Bräu Lite. When Meister Bräu went bankrupt in 1972, Miller Brewing acquired the brand, reformulated it, and reintroduced it as Miller Lite, a 96-calorie beer that would become the first widely successful American light beer.
Initially, executives at Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Budweiser, were skeptical of the potential of light lagers. They believed that their beer was already light enough. However, Miller’s success with Miller Lite disproved their assumptions. It turned out that the marketing of light lagers was more critical than the brewing process itself. Miller Lite’s national launch in 1975 featured ads with professional athletes, selling the idea of a lager that tasted great and was less filling to male consumers. The message was clear: even guys can enjoy light beer. And it worked. Miller Lite became a sensation, shipping 5 million barrels in its first year. This success compelled other companies to follow suit, with Coors reintroducing Coors Light and Anheuser-Busch launching Natural Light and Michelob Light in subsequent years. However, Anheuser-Busch was initially hesitant to release a light version of its flagship brand, Budweiser.
“They didn’t want to stake their company on it,” says William Knoedelseder, author of Bitter Brew, a book on the Anheuser-Busch dynasty. Chairman August A. Busch III considered Budweiser the company’s pride and joy and a testament to the family’s heritage. “Nothing with the Budweiser name had ever failed.” However, in 1981, with Miller Lite’s sales continuing to surge, the pressure became too great to ignore. Busch decided to bet on Budweiser Light, later renamed Bud Light. This was a significant move, as it meant placing a century’s worth of brand loyalty on the line. After making adjustments to the recipe to reduce bitterness, as per the chairman’s standards, Bud Light was introduced in 1982 with a memorable commercial featuring a galloping Clydesdale, which aired during sports events. However, Bud Light still struggled to surpass Miller Lite’s sales.
Everything changed with a Super Bowl ad in 1987. Anheuser-Busch targeted a younger male demographic with a 30-second spot showcasing a bull terrier called Spuds MacKenzie. Spuds quickly became a pop-culture sensation, capturing attention as he skateboarded wearing sunglasses, accompanied by attractive women. The ad portrayed Spuds as the ultimate party animal for Bud Light. These eye-catching ads helped boost Bud Light’s sales by 21% in the first year. By late 1994, Bud Light had overtaken Miller Lite as the best-selling light lager in America and was second only to Budweiser overall. This solidified Anheuser-Busch’s dominant position, with their beers occupying the first two spots. In 2001, Bud Light surpassed Budweiser to become the best-selling beer in America, available everywhere from grocery stores to bars, and beloved by college students and tailgaters.
However, the light-lager market has always been competitive. If consumers decide to move away from Bud Light, it is relatively easy to switch to alternatives like Coors Light or Miller Lite. Drinkers see these brands as interchangeable, as they are similarly priced and taste the same. Therefore, brand perception plays a major role in consumer preferences. Constellation Brands, for example, has cultivated a large following for Modelo Especial through strong marketing and a loyal Hispanic customer base. Michelob Ultra, also part of the Anheuser-Busch InBev portfolio and outperforming Bud Light in recent scans, is positioned as the light beer of choice for active, health-conscious individuals after a workout or a round of golf.
“They won’t be able to regain that volume,” says Dave Infante, publisher of the drinks newsletter Fingers. Bud Light’s sales peaked at 42.4 million barrels in 2008 and dropped to 25.7 million barrels by 2020. Even before the boycott, it was inevitable that Bud Light would eventually lose its status as the best-selling beer in the country.
Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing for Bud Light, shared her daunting task of reviving the brand during an interview on the Make Yourself at Home podcast in March. She emphasized the need to attract young drinkers to ensure a future for Bud Light, acknowledging its long history of decline. However, shortly after the podcast, Heinerscheid was put on leave as the company dealt with the repercussions of the anti-Mulvaney boycott. It seems that her efforts to rebrand Bud Light and move away from its frat-boy image were too ambitious for a brand that achieved success by catering to young men’s fantasies.
However, it’s important not to get carried away with notions of Bud Light’s demise. Just as its dominance was overstated, the belief that it is now on a downward spiral may also be exaggerated. Discontent and backlash over beer choices are not new phenomena. Allyson P. Brantley, author of Brewing a Boycott, explains that the brewing industry has historically faced consumer movements driven by various concerns, mainly due to beer’s prevalence in American culture. For example, in 1966, two Hispanic groups from Denver boycotted Coors over the treatment of Mexican American workers, with the boycott lasting until 1987. Similarly, in 1982, Jesse Jackson led a boycott of Anheuser-Busch to protest the absence of Black-owned distributors. However, such controversies are often forgotten over time.
Companies like Coors have responded to backlash by creating subsidiary brands like Killian’s Irish Red and Zima to hide the corporate connection. Likewise, it’s unlikely that Bud Light will disappear completely. Historical precedents suggest that Americans tend to have short memories when it comes to boycotts and controversies surrounding their preferred beverages.
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