On a pre-4th of July trip to Giant Eagle, I noticed that Budweiser is still trying to move their swill. Over a year after seeking marketing assistance from an ingrate who’s entire shtick is mocking feminine attributes of women, it’s still a slog.
I’m not going to look up their sales figures, because I don’t care. Bud Light never appealed to me. Michelob seemed like a step up from Bud Light, but Yuengling and Molson are better alternatives. Natty Light was always the step down, cheap frat beer. Bud Light is now cheaper than that, but it’s image took such an unnecessary hit.
Being associated with a cross-dresser wasn’t the problem, Dylan Mulvaney was. He mocks women and isn’t self-aware. For cross-dressing to work, it has to be self-aware, and mock men trying to be women.
A genuine male sex symbol, like Cary Grant, who can’t plausibly pass for a woman, is funny. It worked 75 years ago.
Around the same time, Jack Benny, cross-dressed to emulate George Burn’s wife, Gracie, and people laughed. He isn’t mocking Gracie or women, but is a poor substitute that gets big laughs.
In 1982, Dustin Hoffman was Tootsie. A few years later, I went as a convincing Tootsie to a Halloween party. It’s a goof because men aren’t women, and don’t know how to be.
The photo from that party must be somewhere. I even shaved my knuckles to commit to the role.
Black folks seem to enjoy a comedian dressed as an authoritative black woman. They aren’t so fond of black men attempting to pass as women in real life. Martin Lawrence made a series of Big Momma movies.
Tyler Perry made a dozen cross-dressing movies.
Guess which one is Tyler Perry. See, black folks don’t get into queerness. Yeah, there are gay Black men, and Black lesbians, but they aren’t interested in the rest of the queer pantheon. They respect authoritative Black women and play off of that affection.
Tyler Perry isn’t pushing a queer agenda. In our current culture, a white man can’t cross-dress unless he is supporting THE MESSAGE. That’s why choosing Dylan Mulvaney was a mistake.
I don’t know how Budweiser gets out from under this cloud. They are dumping money into sports events like NASCAR and FIFA, but it isn’t going to work. The recipients will take the money, the spectators may drink the beer, but nobody is going to forget.
A bold move would have been to pull Tyler Perry in to portray Madea as a Bud Light drinker of a certain age. Black folks are pretty low on the grievance hierarchy, but it would be awkward for the corporate media to criticize a Black man portraying a strong, Black woman who is a popular character in a series of movies.
That strategy is a gamble, but Black folks appreciate ballsy humor and do influence popular culture. The queer community would be divided. Gays and lesbians aren’t involved, so may play along. If popular Black entertainers were onboard, the few disgruntled transgendered folks wouldn’t get much traction. Budweiser marketing doesn’t have the sophistication to make that work, so should consult someone like Kanye West or Dave Chappelle to advise.
The alternative, and likely, strategy is to plod along, hoping people forget, until Bud Light is pulled as a brand or fades into trivial sales.