'I feel bad for Bud Light': Beer analyst says Anheuser Busch's focus shifted when last family member quit
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Anheuser-Busch, the iconic American beer brand previously known for its hilarious and fan-friendly sports marketing, began its billion-dollar collapse in 2008, when the founding dynasty lost control of the company, according to beer analyst Harry Schuhmacher. Schuhmacher, who has 30 years of experience in the beer industry, made the statement during an interview on the BeerNet Studios podcast when he lambasted the company's recent marketing blunders.
Schuhmacher said that the brewery was doomed as soon as family patriarch August Anheuser Busch III retired from the company in 2006. "They were the most respected, they knew the market better than anybody. August III knew that sports and humor were the way to get in," Schuhmacher said.
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'I feel bad for Bud Light, and I feel bad for the employees'
Schuhmacher cited Anheuser-Busch's participation in the prestigious art fair Art Basel Miami Beach as an example of the firm losing touch. He said, "It doesn't have to be NFL Football, I get it. But not Art Basel in Miami." Schuhmacher lambasted the company's marketing missteps, saying, "So many people depend on Bud Light for their income. I feel bad for Bud Light, and I feel bad for the employees and distributors who have to go out in the market and deal with this b*******."
Anheuser-Busch has come under fire for promoting woke advertising in its marketing initiatives, most notably with its recent collaboration with transgender actor Dylan Mulvaney. This campaign sparked a strong response, with committed customers abandoning the corporation and boycotting its products, resulting in a $6 billion loss. Schuhmacher attributed the company's decline to a change of identity from previous decades of successful advertising, a shift that he says "created blind spots." In decades past, Anheuser-Busch was known for its humorous, often-raunchy advertising, including a notorious 1994 ad that saw men wearing wigs and dresses to participate in a bar's ladies' pool tournament, Daily Mail noted.
'I'm saying that this was a culture that started in 2008'
The company has faced criticism for moving away from this successful formula and pushing woke marketing on the masses. Schuhmacher said that Bud Light's former leadership had a much firmer grasp on the market than the company does today. "Yes, I'm upset - I'm not throwing stones at any (Anheuser Busch) employees, I'm saying that this was a culture that started in 2008," he said on the podcast. In July 2008, Anheuser-Busch's 'landmark sale' ended 156 years of family control which the expert note was the inception of the firm's troubles. From 1975 through 2006, the company's chairman was August Anheuser Busch III, the great-grandson of the company's founder.
By the 1880s, it distributed 140,000 barrels per year under the direction of original brewery founder Eberhard Anheuser
However, his elevation to the top of the company only occurred after he threw out his father 'Gussie' Busch Jr in a boardroom coup, despite his father being credited for developing the company into the world's largest and most powerful brewery since he took the leadership in 1946. By the 1880s, the company had reached national fame, distributing over 140,000 barrels per year under the direction of original brewery founder Eberhard Anheuser and his son-in-law, Adolphus Busch. By 2023, that figure had risen to almost 100 million barrels, the media outlet detailed.
