Not Even The Super Bowl Could Save Bud Light In Its Fight To Return From Mulvaneygate
We're almost at the first anniversary of Bud Light shooting itself in the foot by way of some custom cans with Dylan Mulvaney's mug on them, nearly tanking its brand for good.
Anheuser-Busch has been trying its darnedest to right the ship. They cut deals with the UFC and comedian Shane Gillis. Even Donald Trump was trying to get people back on the Bud Light ship. With all of that momentum, it seemed like the first Super Bowl since Mulvaneygate was a perfect opportunity for sales to rebound. They even launched a pretty solid commercial with an old-school Bud Light vibe for the Super Bowl itself.
That's probably why a lot of people thought the Super Bowl would mean a rebound for Bud Light, but according to the Wall Street Journal, Bud Light once again came up short.
The brand was second among all beers for Super Bowl Sunday, owning a 7.3% share, good for second behind Modelo Especial which had 8.7%.
That's a big disappointment for Anheuser-Busch, especially when it is reasonable to think that there'd be a bigger bounce back.
It has been a brutal 11 months and change for Bud Light, and even the Super Bowl couldn't pull it out of its slump. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
I've made my feelings known about Super Bowl parties. I'm not a fan. However, pre-Mulvaneygate, Bud Light would have been one of the beers I'd have purchased to fill a cooler. I'd usually look to the Holy Triumvirate of light beers — Bud, Miller, and Coors — and pick the best deal.
Is it the best beer out there? Of course not, but you can drink a lot of them (beer snobs would say it's "sessionable") and it will please most people.
Delight them? No. Please them? Yes.
I think before last year, this was probably the case for most people, but clearly, the problems for Bud Light run deep.
In fact, Bud Light sales are still down 30% from where they were last year at the same time. Furthermore, while Bud Light was the biggest loser, other brands under the Anheuser-Busch umbrella including Budweiser, Michelob Light, Busch Light, and Corona saw declines as well.
This just goes to show what a monumental undertaking rebuilding Bud Light is. It could be years before it's even in the same neighborhood that it once was, and that's if it ever gets there at all.