Supporting brands that align with your values seems easy, but it’s a lot more complicated than Kid Rock shooting cases of Bud Light because the parent company ran a small marketing campaign with a transgender influencer. It’s even more complex than boycotting the brand because its VP insulted its customer and its parent company isn’t American.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (SPROUT)- Get a free report he has done all these things. It had a promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, it does have a vice president who called its customers “fratty” and it’s owned by a foreign company.
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On the other hand, the vast majority of Bud Light’s advertising dollars do not go to LGBTQ+ communities or causes. And while the company technically has foreign owners, it’s also public and in the portfolios of tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of working-class Americans through their retirement accounts.
In addition, the Anheuser-Busch brands continue to be headquartered in St. Louis, and tens of thousands of Americans earn a salary directly from the company while hundreds of thousands support its ecosystem. So when you boycott the Bud Light or Anheuser-Busch brands, who are you hurting and who are you helping?
The best-selling new beer in America is Modelo, which is a Mexican brand that also has thousands of workers in the US. Will the Budweiser boycott hurt the company? Yes, because light beer is a fairly undifferentiated product. Coors Light, Miller’s Lite, Modelo, and many other beer brands aren’t that different, so you can boycott, feel morally superior, and not think about the people like you that your action might hurt.
A look at Disney vs. DeSantis
Ron DeSantis made Walt Disney (DIS)- Get a free report their main enemy in their so-called “woke” war. Disney, he argues, has fought to put sex policy in schools and take away rights from parents.
In reality, after much prodding from his employees, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek took a stand against DeSantis’ so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. This law literally does not allow teachers in Florida schools in grades K-3 to mention anything involving sexuality. This means that a teacher in a same-sex marriage cannot put a picture of their spouse on their desk. And, well, if Heather has two mothers, she’s not allowed to talk about it, nor can she read the books that might show her that her reality, something a child didn’t choose, is shared by other people.
DeSantis wants to paint Disney as a monster, and many parents may agree with his legislative agenda, but they’ve also probably let “Frozen,” “Cars” or some other Disney classic distract their kids for a few hours. Some parents may not like that some Disney cartoons reflect diversity, and Star Wars vaguely (very vaguely) has diverse characters.
Disney also creates billions of dollars for Florida and employs more than 100,000 people in the state directly at a starting wage well above the state minimum. It’s also a huge taxpayer, and regardless of your politics, it’s very hard to argue that Disney World’s theme parks aren’t fun (and very hard to make them political).
Garth Brooks does it well
Boycotts aren’t just right-wing stuff. Many liberals won’t eat at Chick-fil-A because its owners have made some questionable comments about LGBTQ+ issues. But your local Chick-fil-A, the one in your town, is 50% owned by one of your neighbors, someone who is part of the community.
It’s never simple, and that’s why Garth Brooks can be the guiding light in how he’s approached Bud Light and the concept of diversity.
“I know this sounds cheesy, I want it to be the Chick-fil-A of honky-tonks,” Brooks shared. “I want it to be a place where you feel safe. I want it to be a place where you feel that there are ways and people like others.”
Brooks simply wants people who come to his bar to buy into the idea that it’s fun to be in a bar and that the person next to you doesn’t have to be friended. They only deserve the right to drink their drink (whatever it is) while they feel safe.
The country singer has made his vision very clear and it seems he has a bar where most people would want to be and maybe where you can meet someone who isn’t like you.
“Ours is this, if you [are let] in this house, love one another. If you’re an idiot, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway,” he shared. “The goal is a classic honky-tonk that welcomes everyone and encourages love and kindness while playing the best music in the world in the home of country music.”
