Video of Bud Light 'Removed Completely' From Bar Goes Viral

Video footage of a Bud Light beer-tap handle being removed from a bar has gone viral on Twitter, as the beleaguered brand continues to face the fallout over its marketing partnership with Dylan Mulvaney.

The Anheuser-Busch InBev brand has seen its popularity plummet in recent months, after transgender influencer Mulvaney unveiled a small partnership with Bud Light on April 1. In a video posted to Instagram, Mulvaney said Bud Light had sent her a can with her face on it to commemorate her 365 days living as a woman.

A number of conservative activists subsequently led a boycott of Bud Light, with musicians Kid Rock, Travis Tritt and John Rich joining those who spoke out against the brand after the collaboration. Meanwhile, some in the LGBTQ+ community slammed the company for not defending its ties with Mulvaney.

Since the calls for a boycott began almost four months ago, Bud Light has seen a drop-off in domestic sales. Revenue remains consistently below what it was at the same time in 2022. The company has also lost its crown as America's most-popular beer, with Mexican rival Modelo Especial now in the U.S. top spot.

In a move to illustrate Bud Light's PR woes, YouTuber and podcaster Daniel M. Keem, who is known online as Keemstar, shared a video on Twitter that shows an employee removing the company's branded beer tap sign from its lineup at a bar.

"So, Bud Light is so boycotted that it's being removed [and replaced] with Miller," Keem, who is based in Buffalo, New York, is heard announcing in the clip. "It's being removed from my local bar. Holy s***. That's crazy."

As the smiling bar staffer unscrews the Bud Light-branded handle and replaces it with one representing Miller Lite, Keem asks: "Really, nobody's ordering Bud anymore?"

"No," the staffer responds with a shake of the head.

Captioning the clip, Keem wrote: "My local bar finally gave up & is removing Bud Light completely from the bar permanently."

The footage, which has been viewed more than 8.4 million times since it was uploaded on July 27, drew a divided response from Twitter users.

"Good move," wrote one Twitter user, while another commented: "Go woke go broke."

While it was not made clear in the video whether the corresponding keg of beer had also been switched out from Bud Light, a number of Twitter users wrote that bar patrons could still unwittingly consume the beer brand.

"This like saying you hate Pepsi so [you] put a Coke sticker on the bottle," wrote one.

Another tweeted: "You do know that changing the handle on the tap doesn't change what beer comes out of it, you know that right?"

Of note was the fact that one of the beers continuing to be offered at the unnamed bar was Labatt Blue, which is also under the Anheuser-Busch umbrella overseas (in the U.S., it is owned by brewing company FIFCO USA, based in Rochester, New York).

Meanwhile, other Twitter users pointed out that Miller Lite has also been known to publicly support the LGBTQ+ community.

"The fact that [Bud Light] was replaced with another beer that is a very open and proud support of the LGBTQIA's+ community is so f****** funny to me," tweeted one.

Miller Lite had faced boycott calls from detractors back in May over its months-old commercial, which highlighted the historical role that women played in beer brewing.

Keem's video comes after it was revealed that Bud Light is now the fourth most-popular beer sold in bars and restaurants, according to a company that makes software for logging orders.

The brand was previously the top-selling beer in the 1,100 "high-volume venues" that use Union's platform. But in the second quarter of 2023, from April to June, Bud Light was outsold by Miller Lite, Michelob Ultra and Coors Light.

Union's data, which was revealed in its latest OnPrem Insights report, also showed that Bud Light's sales fell furthest in South Carolina, North Carolina and Texas. California recorded the smallest impact.

The data reported a 34 percent year-on-year drop in Bud Light's sales share, from the second quarter of 2022 to the second quarter of 2023. This took it from the top spot to fourth place at Union's bars and restaurants. The top 10 list for beers is completed by Dos Equis, Corona, Guinness, Modelo, Stella Artois and Yuengling.

Newsweek has contacted a representative of Bud Light via email for comment.

Update 07/28/23, 4:40 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include information on Labatt Blue's U.S. ownership.