The bleeding continues for Anheuser-Busch.
Their attempt to go full woke has resulted in bad press, plunging stock prices, and mass layoffs.
And now the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally just gave Bud Light a huge black eye in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
The 83rd annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally just concluded, with tens of thousands of bikers from all over the world gathering to show off their bikes, honor the U.S. military, and enjoy a few days of old-fashioned, gas-powered America at its best.
This Bud’s not for you
However, one long-time attendee at the rally didn’t seem to enjoy this year’s festivities as much.
Anheuser-Busch, maker of Bud Light, saw their beer tents look more like a ghost town than a festival.
Because it turns out those who went to Sturgis, South Dakota, for the annual motorcycle rally steered clear of the Budweiser tents.
And that is more bad news for the beleaguered brewery.
Because Sturgis, a town of only about 7,000 residents for most of the year, was packed with more than 250,000 bike-loving visitors.
And these are beer-loving Americans normally drawn to the Bud tents.
In addition to the more than two hundred thousand attendees, the Sturgis bike rally drew a number of high-profile corporate sponsors, including Budweiser.
And this year, in an attempt to try and win back customers turned away by the Bud Light transgender controversy, Budweiser made a big showing.
Not only were banners emblazoned with the Budweiser logo located throughout Sturgis, but the iconic Budweiser Clydesdale horses helped kick off the rally by leading the opening ceremonies.
No one cared
But despite their efforts, attendees of the rally got their beer almost anywhere but at the Budweiser tents and booths.
Videos on social media showed nearly empty Bud tents and booths despite an impressive set-up that might be expected for the beer giant.
Their tent and booth areas offered shade, cold beer, and lots of free official Budweiser merchandise.
But almost no attendees seemed to care.
Most experts and social media commentators are blaming the poor turnout on continued anger with the beer maker after Bud Light’s association with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.
The beer company has never apologized to its customers for the transgender marketing blunder and has so far lost nearly $30 billion in market value.
“Right now, maybe because of the bad PR, the controversy, people [are] staying away,” said the man behind TikTok account Cycledrag.
Cycledrag posted throughout the Sturgis rally and has over 350,000 followers.
At the end of a one-minute video, Cycledrag attempted to offer some hope for the beer brand and predicted that Budweiser drinkers will return, joking that “political views may be no match for alcoholism in the end.”
But that prediction did not come to pass.
In a follow-up video, the Budweiser area remained so empty that even Cycledrag struggled to put a positive spin on the situation.
“Oh my goodness. Wow,” Cycledrag says as he pans the camera across the desolate Budweiser displays.
“Sturgis is absolutely jam-packed,” Cycledrag notes. “The Harley[-Davidson] tent is packed, the BMW tent is packed, but Budweiser [is] having a tough go.”
“There must be a whole lot of beer left over in there,” he adds. “I don’t know what to say.”
Samantha Chang of the Western Journal suggested the “response in Sturgis sends an unequivocal message to Bud Light and other ‘woke’ corporations that using their products to push left-wing propaganda is unacceptable to a large segment of consumers.”
