Daniel Blake, the vice president overseeing marketing across Bud Light's mainstream brands, has taken a leave of absence due to an ongoing backlash over its partnership with transgender influencer and activist Dylan Mulvaney. The controversy has sparked public displays of anger, with Kari Lake refusing to drink the beer at an open bar in Iowa and other licensed venues withdrawing the beer from sale.
Alissa Heinerscheid has also stepped back from her role as marketing chief for Anheuser-Busch’s mainstream brands following the intense reaction to their advertising campaign featuring Mulvaney. Sources close to the situation have revealed that neither executive took voluntary leaves, indicating a possible forced decision by higher-ups within the company.
In addition to these shakeups within Anheuser-Busch’s marketing department, another change occurred recently when Todd Allen was replaced by Todd Allen for the marketing of another one of Anheuser-Busch's beer brands, Budweiser.
The company has made several attempts to damage control over this social-media furor; CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a statement addressing the issue:
"We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people," said Whitworth. "Anheuser-Busch is proud of our long history supporting communities across America – our military service members, first responders, sports fans and hard-working individuals everywhere."
Despite these efforts at mitigating fallout from their controversial partnership with Dylan Mulvaney and reorganizing key personnel within their marketing team structure, it remains unclear how this will impact future campaigns for both Bud Light and other products under Anheuser-Busch's umbrella.
While some may view these changes as necessary steps towards corporate responsibility or bowing down amidst public pressure depending on individual perspectives on LGBTQ+ issues in advertising - only time will tell if consumers ultimately view this move positively or negatively moving forward into future ad campaigns.