Newsfront


‘Woke’ Backlash Gathers Steam


Companies pay a price for shoving progressive ideas at unwilling consumers.


F BY MARISA HERMAN


acing a growing consumer backlash to campaigns based on progressive political val- ues, a slew of major companies were forced into full-on damage control mode as their sales crashed and reputa- tions plummeted. Marketing and branding experts predicted that companies will think twice before incorporating “woke” themes into their next marketing ventures.


“Corporations have forgotten who


their audience is, who their consumer is, and when they make that mistake, they face the biggest backlash possible,” said David Johnson, an Atlanta-based marketing and branding expert. “Con- sumers are angry.” Dallas-based marketing expert


Adam Rizzieri agrees, saying the Amer- ican public is “rejecting what has been shoved down their throats” and is tired of being “force-fed products” that don’t appeal to them.


Companies have abandoned the


basics of marketing to focus on issues they see trending on social media, Rizz- ieri said. “They are forgetting what their com-


petitive edge is. My advice to any com- pany is to know your customer.” While brands such as Ben & Jerry’s


ice cream and Nike athletics are known for taking political stances on issues, beer drinkers were stunned when Bud Light suddenly pivoted from promoting Clydesdales and patriotic Americana imagery to teaming up with a trans- gender influencer in a marketing cam- paign that sparked a massive consumer revolt.


BUD LIGHT Even though a specially made beer can bearing the likeness of transgen- der social media influencer Dylan Mul- vaney was never mass produced, Bud Light’s endorsement of the activist’s “365 Days of Girlhood” campaign in April triggered an instant backlash. Within a


month Bud Light sales declined 30%, wiping $16 billion off the value of parent company Anheus- er-Busch InBev. Johnson called


it one of the “big- gest marketing failures of all time,” setting an example of what not to do for other companies who want to avoid becoming the


10 NEWSMAX | JULY 2023 next Bud Light.


Anheuser-Busch’s flagship brand Budweiser also suffered, with sales rev- enue in May down nearly 25% year over year, according to NielsenIQ. Sales of Budweiser Red and Mich-


elob Ultra, which is the company’s big- gest-selling brand in the U.S., also took a big hit.


Anheuser-Busch had to buy back


unsold cases of Bud Light from whole- salers and offered $15 rebates to cus- tomers, lowering the price of four six- packs to as little as $3.49.


TARGET A recent Pride-themed clothing collec- tion displayed prominently in its stores led to a boycott that cost the Minneap- olis-based retailer nearly $13 billion in lost sales. Target partnered with Abprallen, a U.K.-based brand with a designer who promotes satanism. The retailer also offers “tuck-friendly” women’s swim- suits that allow trans women who have not had gender-transition operations to conceal their private parts. The items debuted in stores just


before Pride Month in June. But hastily removing some of the merchandise wasn’t enough of a change for Target shoppers, who continued to boycott the store — especially after Target CEO Brian Cornell defended the merchandise as the “right thing for society.” Other controversial items in the


line include a onesie for infants that states “Bien Proud,” a children’s book titled ’Twas the Night Before Pride, and T-shirts displaying vari- ous LGBTQ+-friendly slogans, such as “Live Laugh Lesbian.”


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