(Newsmax) As news broke that Bud Light signed a multiyear marketing contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts organization, critics reignited calls to boycott the beleaguered beer, Newsweek reports.
Clay Travis, founder of sports media website OutKick, blasted Bud Light on X, saying, the “brand is dead.”
“Bud Light just spent $100 million on a UFC sponsorship deal to try and cancel out the chicks with d**** ad. No one is drinking Bud Light at any tailgate I’ve been to this fall. Brand is dead.”
Another, AntEvansMMA, derided the reported $100 million deal as nothing more than an “expensive lifeline” to save Bud Light.
“As soon as Bud Light destroyed their business with that ghastly stunt earlier this year,” they wrote, “I had a feeling it would be a boon for UFC. The first time Bud partnered UFC, it was almost as if they were doing UFC a favor. This time it is UFC selling them a very expensive lifeline.”
‘The Problem With This Country’
One X user, MuensterJohann, referred to UFC Chief Executive Officer Dana White as “woke UFC globalist” in a particularly harsh posting on X:
“@ufc I am done watching UFC until they remove that woke Clydesdale p*** @budlight beer, another thing is Bill Gates bought a bunch of this p*** beer stock and as long as UFC is a sponsor of @budlight, I’m done. Bill Gates and Bud Lite are the problem with this country — Dana stop being a woke UFC globalist!”
Bud Light parent Anheuser-Busch and UFC on Tuesday announced their multiyear partnership will begin Jan. 1, 2024. It comes on the heels of UFC merging with WWE to form TKO Group Holdings, a newly public traded company.
Anheuser-Busch was previously a UFC partner for many years through 2017, when the franchise signed with Modelo.
The union appears to be part of a broader effort to revive Bud Light following its partnership with a transgender influencer in April, which sparked a boycott by its core customers and dethroned Bud Light as America’s top-selling beer.
The controversy began on April 1, 2023 with a Bud marketing campaign featuring transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Many celebrities, including musician Kid Rock and country singers John Rich and Travis Titt, urged Bud Light drinkers to boycott the beer.
The conservatives’ calls worked.
Beer drinkers who ditched Bud Light have turned instead to Mexican beers, including Modelo, and other rivals, including Coors Light and Miller Light.
Sales Hemmorhage
Sales of Bud Light have been hemorrhaging for the past seven months, with the most recent data for the four weeks through October 7 showing volumes down 30% year-over-year.
