Fact Check: Did Bud Light Call Critics 'Crybabies' on Billboard in Wake of Boycott?
Last week images of a billboard with the line “LOL Crybabies” and sporting a picture of a can of Bud Light made the rounds on social media, causing many to assume the beer brand was putting up billboards attacking its own customers and causing many to wonder if the whole thing was real.
Bud Light, of course, has been suffering a growing boycott after it contracted with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney to sell its product during college basketball’s March Madness.
As the controversy over the beer brand’s choice of pitchmen continued, a new brouhaha arose when a social media post on the previously mentioned billboard earned more than three million views, with comedian Tim Young asking, “Is this Bud Light billboard real?” and adding, “If so, they’re begging to lose another $6 billion in market share.”
Is this Bud Light billboard real? If so, they’re begging to lose another $6 billion in market share. pic.twitter.com/NaSfphADuf
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) April 21, 2023
Another post featured what looked like an actual live video of this supposed Bud Light billboard featuring a camera sweeping across a city neighborhood and focusing on the purported “crybabies” sign.
Bud Light doubles down and TAUNTS their customer base for BOYCOTTING them. pic.twitter.com/GZ04yvQgf2
— Stew Peters (@realstewpeters) April 21, 2023
FACT CHECK:
With postings such as these going viral on social media, many Americans are asking, are these billboards real?
Much as it would seem to be so readily believable, it turns out these billboards are not real, but are, instead, the work of a TikTok creator who specializes in convincing photoshop images.
According to the Associated Press, the actual billboard at the location seen in the video, which is in Toronto, Canada, does not feature any “LOL Crybabies” message from Bud Light.
“The Bud Light advertisement is not real, the owners of the billboard confirmed to The Associated Press. The actual billboard currently displays an advertisement for the streaming service Disney+,” the AP reported.
The AP added, “[T]he billboard, located in Toronto, does not contain an advertisement for Bud Light, an executive at Branded Cities, the advertising company which owns the billboard, told the AP. It has the same blue background as the one in the altered image, but it says ‘All these and more only on Disney +.'”
“Our billboard was altered in the images that have been circulating on social media,” Toby Sturek, president of Branded Cities’ Canadian division, told the AP.
Saw this first photo circulating on Twitter. I said, “I know that intersection.” So went to look. Sigh. That would have been funny though… #Toronto #BudLight pic.twitter.com/8oeTkJZ0D4
— Joe C (@joe_cristiano) April 21, 2023
The fake billboard video was created by videographer Jamie Lightfoot, who posts many of his creations on TikTok.
The fact that such a fake video is so believable, though, is a situation that Bud Light forced upon itself through its bad advertising choices. Indeed, just recently, Bud Light made a desperate attempt to put the Mulvaney mess behind itself with an ad touting its patriotism and its love for traditional American values. Unfortunately for the brand, it didn’t help as few appreciated the naked attempt to pretend it hadn’t just dismissed and insulted its own customers.
Though he initially felt he didn’t care much about the whole controversy, even Joe Rogan ended up blasting Bud’s most recent attempt to mitigate the mess its Dylan Mulvaney ad campaign caused. After Bud Light put out that cloying, pro-America ad, Rogan blasted the beer brand for making people hate them even more.
WARNING: The following video contains language some viewers may find offensive.
Joe Rogan slams Bud Light’s pivot to a pro-American ad after their tranny stunt.
“Shut the f*ck up. Now, I hate you more. Like, what are you doing?”
“Was this AI-generated? That’s probably a Chat GPT 4.0 version of the perfect American commercial.”
He speaks for most… pic.twitter.com/89jp6vv6JY
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 22, 2023
Meanwhile, Bud Light’s sales numbers are still cratering, and it was noted that the company had even lost billions in market value since the Mulvaney debacle.
The owner of Bud Light, Anheuser-Busch, also moved to stem the bleeding by putting the Bud Light executive who contracted with the transgender activist on a “leave of absence.”
Clearly America has not come anywhere near close to forgiving Bud Light for its transgressions. Still, it remains to be seen if this permanently hurts the beer brand’s bottom line. Bud Light may eventually see a return to prominence. After all, Americans are a forgiving people.
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