Bud Light’s vice president of marketing discussed in a recent interview how she was inspired to update the “fratty” and “out of touch” humor of the beer company with inclusivity.
Alissa Heinerscheid did an interview with the podcast “Make Yourself At Home” on March 30, where she discussed her work in transforming the Bud Light brand.
“I’m a businesswoman, I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a 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,‘” Heinerscheid said.
Heinerscheid’s comments have gone viral days later, after Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch received backlash for partnering with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. The beer maker ignited a firestorm earlier this month when it celebrated Mulvaney’s “365 Days of Girlhood,” by sending Mulvaney custom-made cans featuring the influencer’s face. Mulvaney said the cans were her “most prized possession” on Instagram with a post featuring “#budlightpartner.” A video then featured Mulvaney in a bathtub drinking a Bud Light beer as part of the campaign.
After the host asked Heinerscheid about how her background, perspective, and values impacted the Bud Light brand, the Bud Light vice president said, “I’m a businesswoman, I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a 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.’”
She added further that she had a “super clear” mandate that “to evolve and elevate this incredibly iconic brand.” She said that what she “brought” to the brand was a “belief” that to evolve and elevate means to incorporate “inclusivity, it means shifting the tone, it means having a campaign that’s truly inclusive, and feels lighter and brighter and different, and appeals to women and to men.”
