America's top-selling beer giant has seen a $5 billion market value decrease since airing the campaign.
In April, Bud Light sent a personalized can to Dylan Mulvaney in celebration of "365 Days of Girlhood", which signified that Mulvaney, an adult male, has identified as a "girl" for an entire year.
According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch, America's top-selling beer giant has seen a $5 billion market value decrease since airing the campaign. Bud Light's in-store sales fell more than 26 percent in the week ending April 22, and decreased 21 percent the week prior. Immediately following the campaign, sales plummeted 11 percent.
Anheuser-Busch is now trying to fix its tarnished reputation with customers that launched a successful boycott, and is attempting to "make amends" with wholesale distributors who have suffered from the losses, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The company told wholesale distributors that they will be sending a free case of Bud Light to employees and announced that they will spend more on advertising to restore their reputation.
The beer giant also reportedly tried to clarify "misconceptions" surrounding the Dylan Mulvaney can in the letter which they say added to the "hostility" retailers are experiencing at their stores.
"This can is not a formal campaign or advertisement," the letter states, according to Fox News. "Our new Vice President of Bud Light and all of us at Anheuser-Busch are committed to reminding all of our consumers why they love Bud Light and why they’ve made it the #1 beer in America."
Houston beer distributor Del Papa spoke out about the backlash they have received in a Facebook post revealing that there have been "tons of phone calls from people being very hateful." Del Papa said they spoke with executives at Anheuser-Busch and were extremely "upset about the situation."Another distributor told the Wall Street Journal that Anheuser-Busch's marketing decision was reckless, telling the outlet "I lost my cowboy bars and now I could lose my gay bars, too."
Benj Steinman, editor of Beer Marketer's Insights, told The New York Post that on Monday Anheuser-Busch executives at a closed-door meeting in Washington, DC, told US beer distributors they will "spend heavily on the brand after spending fell off a cliff last year."
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