The sales decline of AB InBev, triggered by a sponsored Instagram post featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney almost a year ago, is now estimated at USD 1.4 billion, making it one of the costliest marketing mistakes in history.
CEO Michel Doukeris acknowledged the impact during discussions with investors on Thursday, emphasizing that the controversy had limited the company's growth in the USA. Organic revenue in North America suffered significantly, with Bud Light sales contributing substantially to AB InBev's revenue decline.
Despite efforts to recover, Bud Light has only regained 1.2 percentage points of lost market share from May 2023 to February 2024. Progress remains slow, with only a slight recovery of 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points observed every few weeks.
The partnership with Mulvaney led to a sharp decline in Bud Light sales as anti-transgender sentiments sparked a boycott. (inside.beer, 14.4.2023) AB InBev's response to the controversy received criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates, further exacerbating the situation. Consequently, Modelo Especial secured the top spot in beer sales in the USA, ending Bud Light's two-decade reign (inside.beer, 9.6.2023
