TechSheck has learned that a marketing firm based in San Francisco, operating for eight years, was accountable for Bud Light’s collaboration with Dylan Mulvaney. However, this ill-fated partnership caused the firm to enter a state of “serious panic mode.”
TechSheck has learned that a marketing firm based in San Francisco, operating for eight years, was accountable for Bud Light’s collaboration with Dylan Mulvaney. However, this ill-fated partnership caused the firm to enter a state of “serious panic mode.”
Sources familiar with the matter reveal that Captiv8, a firm based in San Mateo, California, known for pairing social-media influencers with major consumer brands, was responsible for introducing Anheuser-Busch to the 26-year-old transgender actress.
The resulting viral TikTok video, featuring Mulvaney enjoying a bubble bath with a Bud Light can, quickly became a prime example of marketing gone awry. The nationwide backlash triggered anxiety and confusion within Captiv8’s offices in the early days of the controversy, according to an insider.
“There was a lot of chatter” among employees about what blowback the firm might face over the botched campaign, according to the source.
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“Internally, the company was in serious panic mode,” the source added.
It remains unclear whether Captiv8, known for its extensive database of over 1 million influencers on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, was involved in creating the infamous Bud Light beer can featuring Mulvaney’s image. Additionally, it is uncertain if Captiv8 played a direct role in producing Mulvaney’s TikTok video. Despite repeated requests for comment, Captiv8 did not respond.
Founded in 2015 by Krishna Subramanian, a Silicon Valley investor who previously sold online ad network BlueLithium to Yahoo for $300 million in 2007, Captiv8 has collaborated with notable brands such as Walmart, American Express, Twitter, and KraftHeinz as stated on their website. Subramanian has positioned himself as an expert in influencer marketing and has given interviews on the subject, including one with The Wall Street Journal in February, where he discussed the significance of viral videos during major advertising events like the Super Bowl.
“The best way to think about TikTok is that it’s a vehicle that takes a consumer to the checkout line,” Subramanian told the paper.
It remains unclear whether Captiv8, known for its extensive database of over 1 million influencers on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, was involved in creating the infamous Bud Light beer can featuring Mulvaney’s image. Additionally, it is uncertain if Captiv8 played a direct role in producing Mulvaney’s TikTok video. Despite repeated requests for comment, Captiv8 did not respond.
Founded in 2015 by Krishna Subramanian, a Silicon Valley investor who previously sold online ad network BlueLithium to Yahoo for $300 million in 2007, Captiv8 has collaborated with notable brands such as Walmart, American Express, Twitter, and KraftHeinz as stated on their website. Subramanian has positioned himself as an expert in influencer marketing and has given interviews on the subject, including one with The Wall Street Journal in February, where he discussed the significance of viral videos during major advertising events like the Super Bowl.
Captiv8
Following the eruption of the controversy, the Belgian-based conglomerate informed distributors that the beer can featuring Mulvaney was not manufactured by Anheuser-Busch or within its facilities. The conglomerate also stated that it had terminated the “third-party” advertising agency responsible for the Mulvaney video, as reported by several distributors.
“Ad agencies send out hundreds of influencer kits a year, some of which have a customized can included. This was one of those situations,” a distributor based in Texas told in April, relating one of Anheuser-Busch’s talking points.
In August, Anheuser-Busch appointed Anomaly, a New York-based advertising firm renowned for producing Super Bowl ads, as the creative agency for the Bud Light brand. An Anomaly spokesperson stated that the agency had no involvement whatsoever in the Dylan Mulvaney campaign for Bud Light.
A day prior to the revelation of the Mulvaney partnership, former Anheuser-Busch executive Heinerscheid expressed on a podcast that the Bud Light brand had become “fratty” and “out of touch.”
“As a businesswoman, my objective was clear when I took over Bud Light. The brand has been in decline for a significant period, and if we fail to attract young drinkers to consume this brand, there won’t be a future for Bud Light,” Heinerscheid stated.
Recently, Bud Light sales experienced their worst week on record, plummeting by 25.7% for the week ending on May 20. This decline, marking the sixth consecutive week of sales decline, puts the brand’s position as the top beer brand in the US at risk. Data from Bump Williams Consulting and Nielsen IQ reveals a 24.6% drop from the previous week.
The significant decline in Bud Light sales has led to a narrowing sales gap between Bud Light and its closest competitor, Modelo Especial. According to the data, Modelo Especial witnessed a surge of 9.2% in sales for the week ending on May 20.
