Maybe it's because of the business I'm in, or maybe it's because I've been boycotted myself on several occasions. Or maybe it's just because I used to drink a lot of beer. Whatever the reason, I've been fascinated by the demise of Bud Light, and the way in which one of America's most enduring brands managed to destroy decades of good will with a single, boneheaded decision, followed by a complete unwillingness to fix it. What a story.
 
This week, I sit down with Anson Frericks, a former executive at Bud Light who had a front row seat to the events that led to one of the greatest marketing disasters in modern history. His new book, Last Call for Bud Light, is fantastic, and our conversation, modesty aside, is absolutely worth your time.
 
Spoiler Alert—what happened at Bud Light was not unique to Anheuser Bush. Over the last decade or so, dozens of companies and corporations have slowly abandoned their commitment to building "shareholder value" in favor of building something called "stakeholder value." Specifically, at the insistence of Blackrock, State Street, and Vanguard. Known as The Big Three, these massive institutional investors manage over $20 trillion of American wealth, some of which is almost certainly in your IRA or 401K. They have also led the charge to elevate a long list of causes that focus on DEI, (diversity, equity and inclusion,) and more significantly ESG, (Environmental Social Governance.)
 
Beneath the marketing debacle at Bud Light is the story of how The Big Three applied extraordinary pressure to the thousands of publicly traded companies they now influence. Pressure to hire based on color, ethnicity, and sexual preference. Pressure to fall in line with all sorts of climate-related dogma. Pressure to embrace a long list of social justice and environmental causes that have absolutely nothing to do with fairness or meritocracy, and everything to do with elevating a cosmetic agenda around identity, race, and social activism.
 
What a relief to see America finally awaken from this fever-dream of sanctimony and virtue-signaling. What a relief to see so many companies and corporations finally come to their senses, as they backtrack from so many ill-conceived policies. Hopefully, this excellent book will inspire other business leaders to avoid the mistakes that were made at Bud Light. Or better yet, encourage them to start listening to the only stakeholders that matter—their customers.