Second Bud Light marketing executive is placed on leave after Dylan Mulvaney debacle

A second Bud Light senior executive in marketing has been placed on leave in the wake of the anger over their partnership with Dylan Mulvaney.

Daniel Blake, who is the marketing chief for Anheuser-Bush’s major brands has stepped back from his job just days after Bud Light’s VP of marketing Alissa Heinerscheid took a leave of absence. 

Anheuser-Busch said the bosses ‘decided’ to temporarily step down, but sources told the Wall Street Journal that the decisions were not voluntary.

The company said: ‘Given the circumstances, Alissa has decided to take a leave of absence which we support. Daniel has also decided to take a leave of absence.’

Blake is a nine-year veteran of the company and ran marketing for both Bud Light and Budweiser.

Daniel Blake, who is the marketing chief for Anheuser-Bush’s major brands has stepped back from his job, after controversy about Bud Light’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney

A replacement wasn’t immediately announced. Heinerscheid’s job was taken over by Todd Allen, who recently served as global vice president of Budweiser.

Heinerscheid was hired to overhaul Bud Light’s marketing in June 2022 with the vision of freshening up its image. 

But that took a disastrous turn on April 1 when the partnership with Mulvaney was announced, sparking a boycott and knocking $6 billion from the company’s value.

 Heinerscheid’s team was responsible for Bud Light’s widely-lauded Super Bowl ad featuring Miles Teller and his wife Keleigh Sperry, and ‘the Bud Light Carry’ ad, which shows a woman carrying a round of beers to a table of friends without spilling a drop. 

Those ads were part of Heinerscheid’s vision to make the brand more female friendly – something she has described as a ‘passion point’. 

But that vision was swiftly cut down on April 3 with the brand’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, a controversial trans activist with a mass following on social media, which proved to be a step too far for Bud Light’s loyal customers. 

Kid Rock was among the first to criticize the partnership and lead a boycott, with other conservative consumers, distributors and suppliers following suit. 

Alissa Heinerscheid, the brand’s vice president of marketing, has taken a leave of absence, according to a report on Friday 

The 26-yea-old transgender activist announced the partnership in a now viral post included the hashtag ‘#budlightpartner’, and a caption that touted the cans as her ‘most prized possession’ 

A graduate of Wharton business school, Heinerscheid has been hailed in interviews as the first woman to ‘lead’ Bud Light in its 41-year history. 

On March 30, in an interview with the Make Yourself at Home podcast, she told of her strategy to ditch Bud Light’s ‘fratty’ reputation and embrace inclusivity to attract a young generation of drinkers.  

In the turmoil that ensued, Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, issued a statement saying it supported the brand’s decision to work with Mulvaney, whose videos follow her journey.

‘Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics,’ the rep said.

It added: ‘From time to time, we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.’

Their doubling down only enraged angered customers more.