Bud Light - March Madness, ft. Dylan Mulvaney (2023)

In 2023 there was a huge controversy about the collaboration between Bud Light and transgender Tik Tok influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which led to a boycott, a huge drop in sales, the axing of some responsible managers and... a LOT of free publicity. But it was not the first time that Bud had done some "Marketing the Rainbow", and other brands had collaborated with trans persons without many problems, so why the big fuss?

Dylan Mulvaney is an American actress, comedian, and TikTok personality. She is known for detailing her gender transition in daily videos on TikTok since early 2022. As of April 2023, Mulvaney has more than 10 million followers on TikTok, and almost 2 million in Instagram, while her video series, Days of Girlhood, has received over one billion views. Clearly, her audience is large and attentive, so it is no wonder that companies like to work with her.

Bud Light did so for March Madness in 2023.

[tonycaminiti]

It took 49 seconds to ruin a multi billion dollar industry lmao

[Blackshadow]

Being a woman really is tough, it takes balls.

[ulfberht]

I don’t drink Bud Light and I’m not at all against the trans community, but this ad is really awful. The main problem is not what you’d think. The idea of a trans woman sponsoring or promoting a beer is a bold if not creative move so it’s not that. For me, it’s just how awkward the whole ad feels. The production value is very low, the fact it’s a fixed camera with no editing, the long goodbye and just Mulvaney’s method of promotion. The ad just feels shallow and empty, there’s no wow to it.

[EnemyAce]

This will be forever remembered as the moment when the silent majority finally had enough of this shit.

[reapthewhirlwind]

Could this be proof that a Harvard degree is pretty much worthless.

[crystalferrer]

Hey Everyone <3
Conservative here, i just want to explain the issue from my perspective. I think a lot of people don't fully know the context of why this was so offensive.

I wouldn’t really have cared if another transgender, or member of the lgbtq+ community had sponsored this. I feel like a lot of conservatives would have shrugged and moved on. Regardless how you stand politically a lot of people in the comments are right. The advertisement itself is not that big of a deal.

...The issue is that its Dylan... If you watch their days of girl hood series you'll quickly realize they're mocking woman in nearly every video. No woman or even transgender woman that I've met acts the way they do. A lot of members of the lgbtq+ community feel like Dylan is making a mockery of them, A lot of women feel the same, and conservatives without question.
Please remember this is the same person who stated they were a woman because they cried plenty of times that day, bought too many dresses they couldn't afford, and didn’t send an email. They also frolicked in very high heels in the forest and sang princess songs, claiming that this made them a woman. They claim to know what motherhood is about, have been used to market tampons, and have been told to normalize men's bulges in swim suit.
Now. People in tik tok can do whatever they want. Our issue is when Dylan was called to the white house, was made a millionaire to different major corporations like Nike, Bud light, and Maybelline, as well as taken over multiple woman's talk shows.

... I'm all for everyone exploring their gender... you do you, but not when it comes to publicly making a mockery of cisgender women. This advertisement isn't really the issue, it's the fact that Dylan is growing so popular so quick because of his very performative behavior about being a transgender woman.
((And that may sound really offensive. Like i said i wouldn’t mind if it were another transgender woman, but Dylan is not like that. He comes off as extremely performative and dumbs himself down to retain what he feels to be a woman.

...this is what i think the specific problem is. It's not really the ad in general but more a compilation of things.

[lawless]

Does this make sense to anyone, they use a transgender woman to promote march madness? March Madness is a NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the Division I level in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Meaning biological males, most who got full basketball scholarships, by getting good grades in school, through hard work and studying, and athletically train physically and mentally, to play basketball in top elite colleges.

All the while Dylan, is prancing like a 6 year old girl, getting promotion and beauty products that meant for females, while he is acting and mocking womanhood as a costume.

[SurprisinglyDeep]

This is the ad? JFC, people are getting worked up over nothing.

[aiurzealot]

ngl, I'm really underwhelmed. It basically boils down to a tiktok announcement.

[fluorideenjoyer]

i can't believe this caused a year of outrage

[Android-rzmb]

Dylan, your face on a bud light can looks more like a horrific shroud

[VanessaMaeFan]

This is so great that currently Bud Light has tanked even more 4 months later.

[zoluhwa]

Dont even know what march madness is and what wish they had done this back in february during superbowl....the company would have been bankrupt by now

[richardhively]

bud light took the term "beer with nuts" literally.

[onnoman]

Its not Bud Light, It's Bud LIGHTB

[anthonyrey]

The problem is Budlight did not think this through. They didn’t look at it from a business standpoint a majority of their customers I would think are the masculine man who does a 12 hour back breaking job who wants just wants to just enjoy a beer 🍺 on a Friday night, or a group of guy pals who wanna get together and have a few watching the big game. I used think that’s what Bud light was. Be honest I’ve never seen a gay person say “I’ll have a bud light”, I don’t have a problem with peoples sexual preferences, but I do believe people are tired of big name companies shoving down pride this pride that 🌈 down thier throats so I understand.

[ubernate]

I still can’t believe ANYONE under any circumstances thought this was a good ad

[lukeskywalker]

They use a confused freak to try to sell beer. I miss the Lite Beer from Miller ads from the 1980s. The ones with all the football players and John Madden. They were great.

[waasar]

It is incredible how many people are completely incapable of accepting people who are different from themselves. It is utterly pathetic to get outraged by a video like this just because you cannot personally relate to the character.

[chiefrocka]

That’s gotta be the worst promo since hulk hogan farted the different strokes theme tune