Bud Light offers $15 beer rebates for Fourth of July weekend amid boycott, declining sales

As the Fourth of July weekend rolls in, Bud Light is offering a rebate of up to $15 on purchases of a 15-pack of Budweiser, Bud Light, Budweiser Select or Budweiser Select 55. And in places where a 15-packs sells for less than $15, the beer could be practically free. Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch offered the same promotion over Memorial Day weekend. The rebate applies to purchases of up to $15 that are made between June 15 and July 8 and will be offered via a prepaid digital card. Customers can redeem rebates on the Bud Light website. Rules vary by state.

Bud Light battles boycott, loses LGBTQ rating

The promotion comes as Bud Light battles with a conservative boycott and plummeting sales following its partnership with a with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Modelo Especial dethroned Bud Light as the best-selling beer in America earlier this month. As the conservatives rallied against Bud Light for the partnership, sales slumped, prompting Anheuser-Busch to put two of its executives on leave and issued a statement from its CEO Brendan Whitworth: “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over beer.” Whitworth’s statement triggered a backlash from the LGBTQ community and its allies. In May, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign suspended Anheuser-Busch’s Corporate Equality Index score, accusing the company of caving to political pressure. The Corporate Equality Index score is a tool that scores companies on their policies for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees. Anheuser-Busch, which had a score of 100, has 90 days to respond or the organization will consider docking its score.

Bud Light’s new partnerships

In an effort to win back customers and revive sales, Bud Light has announced partnerships with country music and NFL stars. The company introduced a new television commercial “Easy to Summer,” set to the soundtrack of “Good Times,” the 1979 hit by Chic. Social and digital content will feature famous NFL players like Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Dak Prescott, while Tyler Braden and Seaforth will headline a national summer music tour − the Bud Light Backyard tour.