Dylan Mulvaney's Payment for Bud Light Deal Leaked with Marketing Team's Call - Report
Anheuser-Busch paid “transgender” social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney a six-figure sum to post a video of himself drinking a can of Bud Light earlier this year, resulting in billions of dollars in losses for the company, according to a new report.
Conservative podcaster Steven Crowder said Thursday he had obtained a leaked conference call from June wherein company executives of an AB InBev marketing partner appeared panicked about the then-burgeoning boycott of the brand.
Anheuser-Busch is a subsidiary of Belgium-based AB InBev.
According to a video Crowder posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday morning, Bud Light also misled the public about how much Mulvaney was paid for his costly social media post.
Mulvaney, who claims to be female, shared a photo and a video of himself drinking a can of the beer on April 1.
He also shared that Bud Light had made a special can of its product with his face printed on it to help him celebrate what he called a full calendar year of being a woman.
The failed marketing gimmick cost the company billions of dollars after a boycott began almost instantly.
It was claimed by the company in May that its partnership with Mulvaney was not “formal” and that one can of beer was involved.
In a letter obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Bud Light at the time told panicked distributors the following:
“This was one single can given to one social media influencer. It was not made for production or sale to the general public.
“This can is not a formal campaign or advertisement.”
According to a call and a financial disclosure shared by Crowder, Bud Light paid $185,000 to Mulvaney.
— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) November 16, 2023
A June 5 call from within a marketing company called Capitv8 appears to show its CEO, Krishna Subramanian, telling others not to speak to the media.
Capitv8 is the California-based company behind Bud Light’s decision to partner with Mulvaney.
“This audio confirms that there was panic by CEO Krishna Subramanian,” Crowder told his audience Thursday.
BREAKING: Leaked All Hands Call Reveals @Captiv8Labs CEO @KSub15 Tried To Cover-Up Dylan Mulvaney @BudLight Deal, Told Staff Not To Talk To Press About Public Relations Nightmare pic.twitter.com/8pKPfI2znU
— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) November 16, 2023
The video shows Subramanian telling his employees that its business with other companies was “highly confidential.”
“The issue is that you lied,” Crowder said while expressing an understanding of the company’s wishes to keep its internal issues private.
Crowder also laid into AB InBev for telling its struggling distributors that the Mulvaney campaign involved only a single can of beer.
Last month, the New York Post reported that Captiv8 had just laid off about 20 percent of its workforce.
One reported laid-off Capitv8 staffer told the Post, “I’m guessing that Dylan Mulvaney contributed. They weren’t laying people off before [Mulvaney’s post].”
Crowder’s Thursday report coincided with a report from CBS News that AB InBev’s U.S. chief marketing officer, Benoit Garbe, will step down next month after two years with the company.
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