“When things get divisive and controversial so easily, I think it’s an important wake-up call to all of us marketers to be very humble,” said Marcel Marcondes, Anheuser-Busch’s global chief marketing officer, at a conference on Monday. Bud Light sales have tumbled since the company’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked an anti-trans backlash and calls for a boycott.
“It’s tough to see all the controversial and divisive debates happening in the US the last couple of weeks involving lots of brands and companies, including, especially, Bud Light,” Marcondes told an audience at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. He said brands in this situation should remain open to learning and understanding their customers.