Despite the backlash after Bud Light teamed up with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney—including parent company Anheuser-Busch placing top marketing executives on leave—a study from Morning Consult released Thursday found a majority of U.S. adults and regular beer drinkers aren’t opposed to more inclusive talent representing their beer brands, though one group is still against the idea: Republicans.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 03: Dylan Mulvaney attends PFLAG National 50th Anniversary Gala on March ... [+]
The study reported that 52% of U.S. adults and 61% of regular beer drinkers would feel very or somewhat favorable if a brand chose to hire “more modern/inclusive advertising talent.”
Numbers dropped slightly when people were specifically asked how they would feel if a company hired a transgender spokesperson, but still 47% of adults and 53% of beer drinkers said they would have a favorable reaction.
When broken down by different consumer and demographic groups, Democrat respondents were most supportive of the inclusive marketing practices (66% supporting transgender spokespeople), followed by Gen Z adults (55%), monthly beer drinkers (53%) and millennials (50%).
Republicans were the only group in which a near majority said they’d feel unfavorably: 49% wouldn’t support a transgender spokesperson, and only 26% supporting it (25% had no opinion).
Mulvaney has been documenting her journey of coming out and transitioning genders on social media for just over a year and, along the way, she’s amassed countless brand partnerships and 10.8 million followers on Tik Tok. On April 1, Mulvaney posted a video indicating Bud Light sent her a can with her face on it to celebrate one-year of her publicly identifying as transgender. Almost immediately, conservative personalities started criticizing Bud Light, including Kid Rock, who posted a video shooting the company’s beer cans. Since the controversy, at least two Anheuser-Busch executives have been placed on leave.
Beer drinkers are a more diverse group than people may think: The study found that people who are drinking beer at least monthly tend to lean younger and more Democratic than non-beer drinkers.
More Bud Light-Dylan Mulvaney Fallout: Marketing Executive Out Amid Far-Right Uproar (Forbes)
Bud Light executives put on leave after Dylan Mulvaney uproar, report says (CBS News)
Bud Light-Dylan Mulvaney: brand's marketing leadership undergoes changes (AdAge)