'Gay Water' Cocktail Launch Aims to Corner LGBT Market Amid Bud Light's Dylan Mulvaney Fiasco
Many companies have tried to capitalize on Bud Light’s devastating decision to use transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney to promote its brand, but one is trying to pick up where Bud Light left off.
That company is Gay Water.
It launched Thursday with several colorful vodka and soda beverages that proudly represent the gay lifestyle.
As some companies have steered away from LGBT activism in hopes of not repeating Bud Light’s mistake, Gay Water intends to stand out with its unabashed celebration of homosexuality.
For example, the company’s website features a video about anal sex.
The email submission form on the Gay Water site reads, “Fill our hole.”
“The key issue that Bud Light tapped into was the fact that they didn’t understand their core audience and know enough about them,” company founder Spencer Hoddeson, who — as you might have guessed — is gay, told CNN.
From Hoddeson’s perspective, the problem with Anheuser-Busch is that the company didn’t publicly defend its transgender Bud Light promotion amid the conservative boycott.
“They just went silent, and I think in 2023, you have to be communicating because people communicate themselves if they’re not hearing from you,” he said.
Gay Water is taking a very different approach.
The brand is named after a popular mixed drink ordered at bars by members of the LGBT community, according to CNN.
“We’re creating a brand that creates representation, particularly in spaces where representation is lacking like liquor stores, bars, restaurants and grocery stores,” Hoddeson said.
“Putting a product with the word ‘gay’ in the title is representation itself,” he said.
I just got a notification that “Gay Water” is here, which is strange because we already have @budlight.
Also, just why 😫 pic.twitter.com/9XD1C8ckVS
— Jaimee Michell (@thegaywhostrayd) July 22, 2023
Hoddeson told CNN he came up with the idea for Gay Water last year while traveling on vacation with his friend who works in the beverage industry.
“I wanted to build something that is queer and part of the community, but isn’t necessarily rainbows and unicorns that you see all around pride,” he said.
“Gay is an umbrella term, and the idea behind the brand is to be as inclusive as possible, which means we want allies, we want straight people to be part of this community we’re building,” Hoddeson added.
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Gay Water is primarily sold online and comes in four flavors: watermelon, lime, peach and grapefruit.
A six-pack costs $18.25 and a 12-pack costs $36.50, according to the website.
Hoddeson noted that Gay Water is not the first alcoholic beverage brand to feature the word “gay” in its name: Gay Beer and So Gay Rosé are also trying to reach the LGBT community.
The Gay Water founder said there are a lot of “straight-coded brands that try to acquire the audience, and that’s what Bud Light did.”
“There’s clearly a desire for folks to have queer customers,” he said. “They just don’t know the right way to go about it.”
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