Woke Leads To Broke
I had the good fortune over the weekend to attend one of the great small town community celebrations Iowa’s rural areas are known for. Like many, a portion of the main street was closed to allow for a stage, vendors, children’s games, and the like…as well as a staple of summer, the outdoor beer garden.
As I watched during the afternoon, a curious pattern started to develop. You could purchase your beer of choice, with signs and logos indicating what brands were there for sale from a cooler…a half dozen of the popular ones were listed.
And while it was prominently displayed as being available, over the few hours that afternoon, I only saw a single person drink a can of Bud Light. The clear favorite among this crowd was Busch Light, in the “we support farmers” yellow limited edition corn cans. But plenty of folks selected Michelob Ultra, as well as Coors Light.
But again, only one blue Bud Light can across the whole beer garden.
Granted, patrons did not take out any anger directed toward Bud Light against other Anheuser-Busch brands…like Busch Light and Michelob Ultra. We’ve heard of folks who have sworn off anything that A-B makes, and the company has conceded that in addition to the cratering of market share suffered by Bud Light, their other brands have also taken a hit.
But it was still striking…one can, that’s all.
Did the Bud Light drinkers suddenly show up as night fell and a band took the stage? Beats me, I left by then…and this is hardly a scientific survey.
But to me it’s clearly another example that these days, consumers will simply vote with their pocketbooks. Guessing this crowd shops at Walmart and not Target, too.
