'Shark Tank' star to teach business students about Dylan Mulvaney, Bud Light's collapsed sales
Kevin O'Leary, a.k.a. 'Mr. Wonderful,' will teach a course on the collapse of Bud Light's stock price in the wake of the Dylan Mulvaney fiasco at colleges across the country this fall.
'This is an extraordinary case that I'll be teaching in business schools across America this fall,' O’Leary said.
On Jul 31, Canadian investor and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, also known as “Mr. Wonderful,” announced plans to teach about the “unprecedented” boycott of Bud Light to college students nationwide this fall.
“This is an extraordinary case that I’ll be teaching in business schools across America this fall,” O’Leary said in an interview with Fox News.
“To lose 25% market share has never been achieved, and it’s impossible to even dream it,” O’Leary Fox News, mentioning that some of the largest previous moves in the beer market range between 1-5%.
He emphasized that beer is essentially the same product, and what sets it apart is the power of its brand. In April 2023, Bud Light partnered with controversial transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney.
“You have to ask yourself: ‘on a campaign that really brings you into a discussion around gender identity, is that the right thing for my beer brand?’” O’Leary said,.referring to Mulvaney’s “365 Days of Girlhood” Tiktok video series, which initially propelled him into the spotlight.
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The company’s decision to feature Mulvaney triggered a majority negative response, leading to a “go woke, go broke” boycott that still persists, costing the company billions of dollars in revenue losses.
O’Leary will utilize the failure of Bud Light to educate students about the impacts of social media and marketing in the business world.
This is an extraordinary case that I’ll be teaching in business schools across America this fall. To lose 25% of the market share has never been achieved.
We’re still talking about this situation months later, and they continue to lose share! pic.twitter.com/P4pDSN1lta— Kevin O’Leary aka Mr. Wonderful (@kevinolearytv) July 31, 2023
“Social media – a widely held view amongst my CEOs is that if you get a bad social media story, it’s going to go away in 24 to 48 hours. But that didn’t happen here. We’re still talking about this situation months later, and they continue to lose share” he said on his Fox appearance.
[RELATED: University launches program to end ‘wokeism’ in the corporate world]
O’Leary accuses Bud Light of failing to reach its target audience with their marketing strategies through Mulvaney, labeling their actions as “very damaging”.
In a July 27 statement, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth reported that the company laid off about 350 corporate staffers in the wake of the boycott.
Campus Reform has contacted all relevant parties for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.