Bud Light | Up For Whatever
How a can of beer can wind up promoting rape culture.
In 2014 the Bud Light brand started using the #Upforwhatever in an effort to project the ideas of spontaneous and carefree fun. The campaign consisted of a Super Bowl commercial and various impressive experiential events that were shared throughout social networks, as part of the brand’s clever social media strategy.
However, in April, 2015, the campaign took a dark turn. Within the #Upforwhatever spirit, Bud Light printed an assortment of slogans on each beer label, one of which was the following:“The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night.” Even though the company aimed to spread the message of people coming together and having fun, some consumers thought otherwise.
Specifically, a great deal of consumers suggested that the tagline was related to rape and how alcohol consume can have a part in turning the victim’s “no” in to a “yes” in some certain assault cases.
The internet reacted almost immediately to the story and it wasn’t long before hashtags like #Upforconsent were used to bash the company for its unfortunate label.
Following the backlash, Bud Light’s vice president Alexander Lambrecht acknowledged the situation with the statement below.
‘’ The two year old campaign has inspired millions of consumers to engage with our brand in a positive and light-hearted way. In this spirit, we created more than 140 different scroll messages intended to encourage brand engagement. It’s clear that this particular message missed the mark, and we regret it. We would never condone disrespectful or irresponsible behavior. As a result, we have immediately ceased production of this message on all bottles.”
Additionally, Lisa Weser, senior director of U.S. marketing communications for Anheuser-Busch, addressed the matter on twitter:
Our Team: Sofia Anastasiou, Marianna Brousti, Martha Tselemegkou, Nektaria Ignatiou, Marianna Kantli
