Bud Light is co-sponsoring a June 17 “all-ages pride event” in Flagstaff, Arizona despite freefalling sales and an ongoing boycott that started as a result of a company marketing campaign with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney earlier this year.
Bud Light is listed as one of the sponsors of the upcoming “Pride in the Pines” event, which will feature drag queens and other performers, according to a report from Fox News. Other high-profile sponsors of the “all ages” event include Old Navy, Toyota and Coca-Cola, though Bud Light is featured prominently in an event flyer.
The event has been billed as “family friendly” and a “safe space” for attendees.
Leading up to June 17, the Northern Arizona Pride Association has informed attendees that a “No Nudity-City Ordinance” for “all gender forms” is one of the requirements for the venue the event will be held in
🚨BREAKING🚨 Bud Light will be sponsoring an ‘all ages’ drag show on June 17 in Flagstaff, AZ
After losing $27 billion in market value, have they not learned their lesson? pic.twitter.com/zc96oA55XE
— Courtney Holland 🇺🇸 (@hollandcourtney) June 7, 2023
The sponsorship comes as Bud Light continues to suffer a massive loss in sales. Leading up to Memorial Day weekend, the once popular beer brand’s sales plummeted 23.9% compared to the same period last year.
In total, backlash against Bud Light and other brands owned by beer giant Anheuser-Busch has cost the company more than $27 billion since March.
Bud Light is even in danger of losing its status as the most popular beer brand in America as its weekly sales have slumped roughly 25% since the boycott began. According to Bump Williams Consulting and NielsonIQ data, Modelo is on pace to pass Bud Light for the top slot. Modelo is owned by Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, however.
Still, the company has not backed down in its support for LGBT initiatives. In addition to the Flagstaff event, Bud Light recently donated $200,000 to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce’s Communities of Color Initiative in order to support “LGBTQ businesses of color.”