By Jake Perez, Editor at LinkedIn News
Bud Light distributors say they're getting free beer and assurances of bigger marketing pushes in order to make up for falling sales in the wake of its controversial partnership with trans social media star Dylan Mulvaney. Retail sales of the Anheuser-Busch brand dropped 21.4% for the week ending April 22, compared to a year earlier, based on an analysis of Nielsen data. Bud Light's "blunder" of a response to the dispute didn't help: It led to claims of "pinkwashing," and it has sparked conversations about authenticity and true inclusion in branding.