'Ultra Right Beer'

[Azy]

https://www.comicsands.com/bud-light-anti-woke-beer-2659859756.html?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR0WDwgnu2sm-aKvDXaM1Ftc67S5RvI5OlVQTJd5TvwPJ9XaVCIhrF7jyDQ#Echobox=1681509649

Bigots are not the sharpest tools in the shed, are they? 

[Sara Nilsson]

Wouldn't be bigots if they where.

[Oniya]

Unfortunately, 'shipping directly to you' is illegal in the state of Illinois, where the stuff is being canned.  (Also, suspiciously, the home of the Anheuser Busch brewing facility...)

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/consumer-products/anti-woke-ultra-right-beer-faces-legal-challenge-illinois

[Murdoc Is God]

Honestly, watching all of this beer controversy has been fucking hilarious to me. I cannot describe the harsh laughter that rang out in my home when we watched Kid Rock go ham on a bunch of Bud Light.

Number one, that's a waste of good beer.

Number two... ... ... ... bruh LMAO what kind of statement did he think he was making?? "I will shoot the LGBT+ community"? Was THAT what was supposed to be inferred? All I inferred is that Mr. Rich Redneck Wannabe will spend money on booze for a (botched) publicity stunt. "THIS IS MY COMFORT ALCOHOLISM PISS OFF!!!"

I absolutely did not have Ultra Right Beer on my 2023 bingo card. The existence of trans people is so hard for bigots to accept. Go woke go broke but fuck cancel culture, bro!

[GloomCookie]

Donald Trump Jr. recently called for people to stop boycotting the brand because apparently Anheuser-Busch donates a lot more to the Republican party than to the Democrats. (60/40 in case you're wondering), and Trump Jr. still says they "Shit the bed" in their marketing department. Also, the cans were for Dylan Mulvaney's personal milestone, not for sale to the general public, so we're not suddenly going to see rainbow cans in stores across the country.

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/donald-trump-jr-calls-to-end-boycott-of-conservative-leaning-bud-light/

[Keelan]

Number two... ... ... ... bruh LMAO what kind of statement did he think he was making?? "I will shoot the LGBT+ community"? Was THAT what was supposed to be inferred? All I inferred is that Mr. Rich Redneck Wannabe will spend money on booze for a (botched) publicity stunt. "THIS IS MY COMFORT ALCOHOLISM PISS OFF!!!"

It's the same thing as when I saw lefty people burning their Harry Potter books, actually:

"This thing I like and have supported (or it's representatives) has decided to openly support something I am vehemently against. Therefore, as a virtue-signal of my disagreement with their decision, I am going to show myself destroying and/or canceling the thing that I have previously supported"

Same as with the 'ultra-right' beer: I can't speak for the person who created it, but for those buying it that's another component of the message:

"I'd rather spend my money on an overpriced 'craft' beer that just came out that even tangentially supports my values, as opposed to spending it on you because of what you claim to support"

Showing your expression of disapproval - to the target company and to others - then demonstrate what is being lost by throwing support elsewhere (financially or otherwise).

Same as when people closed and made a show of boycotting Blizzard following the various incidents, same with people making a show of closing their Twitter and signing up for Mastodon or whatever, same as when people post themselves breaking or closing or canceling or whatever some service or product because they support a thing that they disagree with.

It's REALLY not that difficult to figure out what's being done.

[Murdoc Is God]

It's the same thing as when I saw lefty people burning their Harry Potter books, actually:

"This thing I like and have supported (or it's representatives) has decided to openly support something I am vehemently against. Therefore, as a virtue-signal of my disagreement with their decision, I am going to show myself destroying and/or canceling the thing that I have previously supported"

I actually can't relate because I kept all of my Harry Potter items. There's more sentimental value in them for me than I can put into words. Sure, I get shamed for this, I get shamed for the fact I played Hogwarts Legacy (even if I didn't pay for it, mind you, I absolutely have not given JKR any money in about 4 years), but the people who shame those who aren't burning things they spent money on and totally giving up on even a fraction of happiness we used to find/can still find without giving her a dime, just want to virtue signal.

But being vehemently against transgender people existing in this world is pure bigotry. These people are upset that a transperson existed in the same room as a beer, a beer that I've heard a lot of the same people bitching about the transperson say in the past was a shit tier beer. So...

The right just wants to be mad that transpeople are allowed to exist and I won't entertain their nonsense regarding the validity of the lives of transgender, nonbinary, drag queens, and gender-non-conforming people. However, I'll laugh at them over their reactions to their precious beer being 'gayed'.

[GloomCookie]

It all comes back to the expression "Vote with your wallet". Corporations support different marketing and products based on how their sales numbers. If the total sales go down, then they reevaluate the situation.  A corporation is in the business of making money, and if they feel they can do so by spreading a certain message, then they'll do so.

Bud Light has been trying to distance themselves from their frat boy image for years, and are doing so by trying to branch out and find new groups to advertise to. This happens all the time. Some companies pull it off, others don't. There was similar backlash against Gillette for their ads a few years ago that seemed to paint men in a negative light, at least according to a lot of conservative organizations. There was a lot of backlash for that. Anytime a company rebrands itself, then they suffer backlash.

Eventually the complaints will die down again, the people who are temporarily ashamed to buy Bud Light due to peer pressure will start buying it again, and in a few years no one will remember that Kid Rock did a stupid publicity stunt trying to make him look better to far right groups.

[Oniya]

It's the same thing as when I saw lefty people burning their Harry Potter books, actually

It's a little different, in my opinion (although in both cases, the money has already changed hands.)

People burning books that they bought x-number-of-years ago (while troubling to my bibliophile soul) is not the same as someone going out and buying a brand new set of books just to set them on fire.  Both of them are 'I'm getting rid of something in a flashy manner', but the latter one is 'I'm actively acquiring this product (and therefore supporting it in a small way) so I can get rid of it in a flashy manner.'

I still own a number of Marion Zimmer Bradley's books - and let me tell you, the skeletons in that closet... *shudder* 

I just stopped actively buying more.

[Humble Scribe]

It's an amazing story. Brewers of terrible 'beer' (rice is not an ingredient of beer - this is a molehill I will die on) with sales in decline try a bit of pinkwashing, face a predictable backlash from a small but vocal minority on the right, issue a tepid statement that satisfies nobody but prolongs the news cycle, and enjoy some free publicity for a week before everyone forgets about it and moves onto the next drama.

[TheGlyphstone]

And surprising no one, the voices that loudly denounce 'cancel culture' are silent when it's right-wing people doing the 'canceling'.

[Sara Nilsson]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/gop-bud-light-donors-nrcc-dylan-mulvaney-b2320765.html

GOP quietly deleted tweet going after Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light, one of its largest donors

The since-deleted tweet comes amid ongoing conservative backlash waged against Anheuser-Busch for featuring a trans person in their latest advertisements

One GOP operative told the outlet that they assumed the NRCC “backtracked because they realized they were biting the hand that feeds them, and as soon as word gets around about that, why would anyone else give them big money in the future?”

https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-jr-end-bud-light-boycott-trans-endorsement-2023-4

Donald Trump Jr. is calling for the end of a conservative-led boycott against Bud Light, which is owned by Anheuser-Busch, over the parent company's partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

According to OpenSecrets, Anheuser-Busch and individuals affiliated with the company donated $514,375 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the 2022 election cycle; individuals with ties to the company also gave $464,505 to the National Republican Congressional Committee for the same cycle.

Oops.

[Chulanowa]

"Vote with your wallet" is especially funny in a lot of these cases because rhe dorks buy the product so they can destroy it.

It all comes back to the expression "Vote with your wallet". Corporations support different marketing and products based on how their sales numbers. If the total sales go down, then they reevaluate the situation.  A corporation is in the business of making money, and if they feel they can do so by spreading a certain message, then they'll do so.

Bud Light has been trying to distance themselves from their frat boy image for years, and are doing so by trying to branch out and find new groups to advertise to. This happens all the time. Some companies pull it off, others don't. There was similar backlash against Gillette for their ads a few years ago that seemed to paint men in a negative light, at least according to a lot of conservative organizations. There was a lot of backlash for that. Anytime a company rebrands itself, then they suffer backlash.

Eventually the complaints will die down again, the people who are temporarily ashamed to buy Bud Light due to peer pressure will start buying it again, and in a few years no one will remember that Kid Rock did a stupid publicity stunt trying to make him look better to far right groups.

[Keelan]

"Vote with your wallet" is especially funny in a lot of these cases because rhe dorks buy the product so they can destroy it.

Not really actually.

For the sake of easy math, let's say a 12-pack of Bud Light is $12. For Anheuser-Busch, that's next to nothing, a fraction of a fraction. Say 1000 people did that, that's $12,000, which for AB is still next to nothing.

However, for that 12 bucks, you can:

-Record a video that you can potentially monetize
-Record a video to spread the word about the boycott you wish to enact and increase it's impact
-Virtue-signal your held values to the people you want to support or the support of, or otherwise to send a message to those counter to your position
-Send visible message potentially to the company you seek to boycott
-And for the more narcissistic side, you also have the potential of getting more eyeballs and attention from people

All for 12 bucks, or 20 or whatever number that is less than a drop in the ocean. Not to mention that if they stick to the boycott and stop purchasing the product, that original 12 bucks means even less compared to the lost future sales I'd imagine.

[Twisted Crow]

I don't really care much for beer in general, but I happen to think that Keelan's point holds up. I can especially see the content creator/'influencer' internet personality types doing this.

[Keelan]

As a related update: the VP of Marketing who ran the Anheuser-Busch ad campaign with Mulvaney is being replaced by their Global VP and they've made structural changes to their marketing branch:

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/23/anheuser-busch-executive-takes-leave-following-transgender-influencer-.html

[Azy]

I don't even know what JK Rowling said.  I'm not really on social media.  I just know people are upset about it.  I still have my Harry Potter books, except the one I lent to a friend that he lost.  In that particular case I fell in love with the series long before she ever said what she said.  I still want to go back to Universal Studios and visit that area.  Someone recently said to me well you know that would be supporting Rowling, who said some anti transgender things.  I don't know if she gets any royalties from that or not, but the money goes to Universal Studios.  In that case it's more separate the artist and the art kind of thing for me.  People saying ignorant things is not cool, but I will always love Harry Potter for reasons. 

Beer is not art, it's a product a company is trying to sell.  I do support people voicing their opinion with their wallets, but if you buy the product to destroy it, you're still buying the product.....

[Murdoc Is God]

I don't even know what JK Rowling said.  I'm not really on social media.  I just know people are upset about it.  I still have my Harry Potter books, except the one I lent to a friend that he lost.  In that particular case I fell in love with the series long before she ever said what she said.  I still want to go back to Universal Studios and visit that area.  Someone recently said to me well you know that would be supporting Rowling, who said some anti transgender things.  I don't know if she gets any royalties from that or not, but the money goes to Universal Studios.  In that case it's more separate the artist and the art kind of thing for me.  People saying ignorant things is not cool, but I will always love Harry Potter for reasons. 

Beer is not art, it's a product a company is trying to sell.  I do support people voicing their opinion with their wallets, but if you buy the product to destroy it, you're still buying the product.....

AFAIK, JKR does get royalties and has used her money to fund anti-transgender... things.

TW: s/a

https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2022/12/14/jk-rowling-funds-sex-abuse-crisis-center-excludes-trans-women

In fact she's said that she sees people still funding her as people funding her rhetoric about transgender people.

I feel the same way about the HP items I already own. And I feel the same way towards my playthrough of Legacy. I'm not a bad person. I'm not funding her. But those stories mean a lot to me. To a lot of good people... beer just doesn't have that same significance to most people. It's not something we read late at night, it's something we snuck out of daddy's garage fridge and puked up afterwards.

[GloomCookie]

My view of Harry Potter and its relationship to J.K. Rowling is that the brand itself is much, much larger than Rowling herself these days. Universal controls the rights to the movies and theme parks and video games, meaning that entire armies of personnel from all walks of life have a hand in developing further content to the brand, of which Rowling herself has almost no part in. She created the universe, but it is now up to Universal to depict the universe how they see fit with Rowling herself having some veto power.

The reason I bring it up is because I feel that media such as Harry Potter doesn't get made the same way that consumer goods are made. Consumer goods are an entirely different logistical chain, and in many cases you can have two name brands (or even a name brand and off-brand) be made in the same facility on the same machines with the same materials. General Motors produces GMC trucks while also manufacturing Chevrolet trucks. The difference is that manufacturers often are associated with different goods based on their branding. Anheuser-Busch produces more than just Bud Light, they also produce Michelob Ultra, Stella Artois, Busch Beer, Natural Light, Landshark Lager, Shock Top, and others. Yet the outrage is targeted almost exclusively at Bud Light, because corporations have so many brands that even if they dip slightly with one brand, they still own a piece of the market.

I'm not trying to detract from what Azy said, just pointing out that there's a difference between the two production methods and that even if Rowling went off the deep end tomorrow, she won't tank the Harry Potter franchise... trust me, Universal would yank that chain hard to remind her where a big chunk (~$100 Million) of her income is coming from. If Anheuser-Busch's faith in Bud Light dropped significantly enough, they'd just retool the equipment and turn it into one of their other brands or produce a new brand without the stigma.

[Azy]

That's true, pretty much every brand of food and drink in this country can be traced back to one of five giant food companies.  I can't find it, but I saw a diagram somewhere kinda shaped like a web that traced every major brand back.  I probably had more of an influence boycotting a locally owned restaurant that used their sign in front to openly support Trump.   

Rowling probably has a contract with Universal that was drawn up when they decided to produce the movies.  She probably gets the same amount every year regardless if I go to the park or not.  That, and it's not like those areas of the park are separate from everything else.  You buy a park ticket, and you can go anywhere in that park you like for the day.  The get your picture taken with a raptor thing was really cool.  The annoying thing is the Hogsmeade and castle set up is in Islands of Adventure, and Diagon Alley is in the Universal park.  They have the Hogwarts Express that goes between the two, and is also pretty cool, but you have to have a 2 park ticket to get on the train and see both parts in the same day. 

I certainly don't agree with the woman's anti-transgender opinions, but yeah, the franchise has a life of its own now.  I got the first 4 books for a dollar as an into offer to a book club, kinda like those CD clubs that were around while I was in high school.  My mom let me use her credit card because it was books. 

[greenknight]

An outsider's perspective on Rowling

The fundamental umbrage at Rowling's embrace of anti-transgender rhetoric and support for those causes stems from the position she placed herself in with the Harry Potter franchise. She spent a good two decades telling everyone to burn their closets and declare who they are. Then she publicly supported a philosophy that basically says transwomen are tourists; if the real disadvantages of being a woman get too much for them they can just go back to being a man, to go back in the closet Rowling told them to burn for kindling.

This is the main point. Her actions are a betrayal of the LGBT community. It is in the living memory of that community the specific harms her behavior caused the community's members: feigning alliance to get the community to out itself for convenient targeting.

And fuck, you, Piers Morgan, for saying she was "speaking up for reason" on Bill Maher's show least week. Your ignorance of history simply reconfirms your incompetence as a journalist. Or your credentials as a provocateur.