Bud Light is facing an 'unmitigated disaster' that is only getting worse, says Clay Travis

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‘Bud Light has broken their brand’: Clay Travis

OutKick founder Clay Travis discusses the Bud Light backlash after the beer brand’s transgender campaign with activist Dylan Mulvaney.

Bud Light's woes appear to be far from over in the aftermath of the ad campaign with transgender activist and influence Dylan Mulvaney. Data shows sales for the iconic beer brand are dropping at a staggering rate, which OutKick founder Clay Travis argued was "self-inflicted." On "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday, Travis discussed Bud Light's "unmitigated disaster," warning the company has "broken their brand."

BUD LIGHT IN ‘SERIOUS TROUBLE’ OF LOSING STATUS AS TOP-SELLING BEER IN US, INDUSTRY EXPERT WARNS

CLAY TRAVIS: For Bud Light, I think this is an unmitigated disaster and it is completely and totally self-inflicted. I don't really know how they are going to climb out of this mess, because people are now ridiculing others when they see them drinking Bud Light. Like, if you're a guy and you're out at a bar, for a long time, people would just sort of order Bud Light because it was a generic name brand that everybody knew. Now, many people, when they walk up to the bar or they go out to the grocery and they're buying beer, they're thinking to themselves, I'll buy anything other than Bud Light. I think this is a warning to all brands out there that have learned over the past 20 years or so there are no consequences for going super woke in terms of trying to appeal to the far left wing in this country. And then Bud Light puts out this, remember, it was a March Madness advertisement. And it just keeps getting worse and worse. …

A picture of the commemorative Bud Light can featuring TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney.  (Dylan Mulvaney/Instagram)

They used to make everybody laugh. They used to sell football. They used to sell partying. They used to sell, let's be honest, humor and also pretty women, right? That was the way you got men to buy beer. And that's none of these things. So I think it's just struck a discordant tone. And if I were in charge of Bud Light right now, and they're trying to do it… they ran a ridiculous country music ad to try to appeal to... old school. This is what they used to do in terms of the way to sell. They've just broken their brand and I think they're in trouble. I think it's a warning sign to brands everywhere.

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Since launching a campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Bud Light has faced immense backlash both socially and economically. Bud Light in-store sales have dropped 26% during the week that ended April 22, the Post-Dispatch reported, citing data from Connecticut-based Bump Williams Consulting, which specializes in the beverage alcohol industry.

The Post-Dispatch noted "the decline is only accelerating" as Bud Light had shed 21% of its sales the previous week and 11% the week before that. Total sales are down 8% for the year, according to the paper. 

Bud Light has since tried to undo some of the damage caused by the Mulvaney campaign, airing new advertisements with pro-America themes. During last week's NFL Draft, the ad showed a young group of friends drinking beer in the rain at a country music festival as "Chicken Fried" by Zac Brown Band plays in the background. 

"Rain or shine, it’s always easy to enjoy a Bud Light," the caption of the 30-second YouTube video reads. 

After it was uploaded on to YouTube, comments were disabled.

The commercial is the second pro-America ad released by the beer brand in recent weeks. Critics derided the first ad, which featured one of the brand's famous Clydesdale horses traversing the country, as a misguided attempt at quelling the backlash instead of offering a formal apology. The new ad strikes a similar tone, as the brand tries to move past the controversial partnership with traditional American messaging and country-themed imagery. 

Fox News' Brian Flood and Yael Halon contributed to this report. 

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