Harley-Davidson Comes Out on Top After Anheuser-Busch Partnership Backlash
recently unveiled partnership with Budweiser, the motorcycle manufacturer's popularity on social media is continuing to rise.Last week, new Budweiser cans were unveiled, which feature logos from the beer maker and Harley-Davidson to commemorate the bike company's 120th anniversary.
The designs are inspired by original hand-drawn blueprints from each of the brands, according to Beverage Industry.However, the cans—which include the words "Kings of our Craft" and "Brewed and built in the USA"—ignited increased furor among a faction of detractors who over the past several weeks have been boycotting Bud Light.In early April, transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney shared a video on Instagram in which she explained that Bud Light had sent her a beer can with her face on it to commemorate 365 days of her living as a woman.
Mulvaney's Days of Girlhood video series, which charts her first year of transitioning, has been a viral success.The partnership drew condemnation from a number of conservative social media users who issued calls for a boycott.
Musician Kid Rock shared footage of him opening fire on a stack of Bud Light cans, a move that was copied by model Bri Teresi as she took aim at a range of brands.Amid the criticism and reports of plummeting sales, some Bud Light executives took a leave of absence, including marketing head Alissa Heinerscheid and Daniel Blake, who oversees marketing for Anheuser-Busch's mainstream brands.As a result of the backlash, the timing of the release of Budweiser's Harley-Davidson's cans proved to be somewhat problematic, with detractors only ramping up their objections to products associated with Anheuser-Busch.
