NEW: Bud Light STILL In Free-Fall One Year After Ad Campaign

New sales data in the beer market shows that Bud Light continues to fall from its position as the most preferred pilsner in the country, demonstrating the staying power that mass boycotts have had on one of the best-selling beers in American history.

The pilsner owned by German brewing company Anheuser-Busch sits in the number three position among beers sold in the U.S., lagging behind Modelo Especial and Michelob Ultra 12 months after the industry was reshaped by outrage over Bud Light’s partnership with a transgender social media influencer. The Wall Street Journal reported that Bud Light represented 6.5% of beer dollar sales in U.S. stores in the four weeks ended July 6, compared with 7.3% for Michelob Ultra and 9.7% for Modelo, according to an analysis of NielsenIQ data by the consulting firm Bump Williams.

Modelo Especial, a Mexican import, outsold Bud Light during the critical period between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, adding insult to injury as patriotic Americans enjoying the start of summer eschewed a brand once beloved for its flag-themed cans. Once the best-selling beer in American history, Bud Light slipped from the No. 1 spot just one month after an April 2023 report that transgender influence Dylan Mulvaney was hired to help shift the brand away from its blue-collar base and towards a younger, “woker” crowd of beer enthusiasts.

The company’s former vice president of marketing was fired just months after the fallout began, but it wasn’t enough to keep pressure by activists from bursting into public consciousness. The boycott quickly became a topic of conversation among celebrities, singers, and even a punchline by late-night hosts as the country debated the merits of canceling brands that stray into virtue signaling and DEI initiatives and away from basic customer service. Conservatives flexed their purchasing power later that year with similar boycotts of Target, Skittles, Ben & Jerry’s, and Kohl’s, all generating headlines but not nearly the impression left on Bud Light’s bottom line.

The protests against other companies have continued well into 2024. Tractor Supply and John Deere were both recently targeted for DEI initiatives that conservatives called a betrayal to their rural customers, causing both corporations to walk back statements made on internal documents promoting various liberal or otherwise inclusive policies.

Anheuser-Busch declined to comment on the continued slump of its flagship brand, but the Journal noted that not all news is bad: the company also owns the No. 2 selling Michelob Ultra. Chief Executive Michel Doukeris earlier this year said the company had lost between 5% and 7.5% of shelf space but noted on a recent earnings call that other company products were able to replace some remaining shelf space left by Bud Light’s void. A summer marketing push will focus heavily on sporting events including the Paris Olympics, Copa América, and the NBA and NFL seasons.

The brand they’re betting on to do best? Michelob Ultra, which will be sponsoring both the U.S. and Mexican men’s teams in the Copa América, as well as the entire U.S. Olympics team.