One influencer post ended Bud Light's 22-year run as America's #1 beer

On 1 April 2023 Dylan Mulvaney posted a sponsored Instagram video of herself drinking a personalised Bud Light can, part of a March Madness promotion. The post became a flashpoint in the US culture war: conservative commentators urged a boycott, and Kid Rock responded with a video of himself shooting up cases of Bud Light with a rifle.

Sales fell within weeks, and Anheuser-Busch's response satisfied no one. CEO Brendan Whitworth said on 14 April: 'We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.' On 23 April the Wall Street Journal reported that Bud Light's marketing VP Alissa Heinerscheid and her boss Daniel Blake had been put on leave; the company said it supported their leaves of absence.

Group CEO Michel Doukeris called it 'one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign', but the numbers said otherwise: in the four weeks to 3 June Bud Light sales were down almost a quarter, and Modelo Especial had taken the top spot with 8.4% of US beer sales by value. In the second quarter US revenue fell 10.5%, shipments fell 15% and depletions fell 14%, with North American revenue down $395 million year on year.

On 27 July the company cut about 380 US corporate jobs — less than 2% of its US workforce. By mid-August Modelo had passed Bud Light for the year to date, ending a 22-year reign as America's best-selling beer; Bud Light's dollar sales were down 14.5% for the year.