AB InBev’s Marcel Marcondes on Bud Light’s Woes: ‘It’s Coming Back’

CANNES, France — It was meant to be an inspirational seminar about how Anheuser-Busch InBev, the only company Cannes Lions has named Creative Marketer of the Year two years in a row, harnessed creativity to help drive business growth.

And it was—for the most part.

On Monday, Marcel Marcondes, AB InBev’s chief marketing officer, explained how AB InBev has shifted from a company that acquires brands to one that grows them before a full theater at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. His presentation featured clips highlighting work from Corona, Brahma and Budweiser’s sponsorship of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

“If we just do creativity for the sake of creativity, we’re in the wrong business,” said Marcondes while on stage at the Palais.

Unwilling to avoid the controversy surrounding its Bud Light brand, however, Marcondes dedicated some time near the beginning of his keynote to address the situation.

“It’s tough to see all the controversial and divisive debates happening in the U.S. the last couple of weeks involving lots of brands and companies, including, especially, Bud Light,” he said.

Marcondes stressed brands in this predicament should remain open to learning and do a better job of what they claim to do on a daily basis: understand their customers.

“When things get divisive and controversial so easily, I think it’s an important wake-up call to all of us marketers to be very humble,” he added.

Bud Light’s backlash

For those unfamiliar with the uproar, Bud Light’s troubles began in early April when transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted a short video on Instagram promoting the brand. The partnership prompted a segment of the public to boycott the beer.

Bud Light’s response to the backlash—putting two marketing executives on leave; issuing a statement that didn’t mention Mulvaney or voice support for LGBTQ+ individuals—upset yet another group of consumers.

Overall, America’s general impression of Bud Light has shifted from positive to negative following Mulvaney’s video, according to data analytics firm YouGov.

Revenue has also fallen. During the week ending June 3, Bud Light’s U.S. retail sales were down 24% compared with the same time last year, the Associated Press reported. Sales of rival Modelo Especial, meanwhile, increased 12%.

On June 15, AB InBev released another statement announcing plans to introduce new marketing for Bud Light.

“Our summer advertising launches next week, and you can look forward to Bud Light reinforcing what you’ve always loved about our brand—that it’s easy to drink and easy to enjoy,” the statement reads.

During his talk at Cannes, Marcondes said Bud Light would begin going around the country to reconnect with consumers.

“It’s coming back,” he said.

Keeping the crown

Despite the controversy, AB InBev remains the planet’s largest brewer. The Belgium-based company oversees more than 500 brands, from Beck’s in Germany to Quilmes in Argentina to Cass in South Korea. At last year’s Cannes Lions, 10 AB InBev brands in seven countries brought home a total of 49 Lions.

During a May earnings call, AB InBev’s chief executive Michel Doukeris noted the drop in Bud Light sales throughout the first three weeks of April represented only 1% of the beer giant’s total sales volume.

“With this perspective, and in the context of our global business, we believe we have the experience, the resources and the partners to manage this,” Doukeris said, adding the company’s annual growth forecast remained unchanged.

In 2022, AB InBev reported $57.8 billion in revenue, up 6% compared with 2021.