Ted Cruz asks for specifics why Dylan Mulvaney was chosen to partner with Bud Light

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is looking into why transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, a biological male who identifies as a woman, was selected for a Bud Light partnership, specifically if the partnership was to reach out to Mulvaney’s followers on social media.

Cruz sent a letter to Captiv8, the ad firm that brokered the partnership between Mulvaney and Bud Light, to inquire about how and when it brokered the partnership. The senator stated he was not surprised that Anheuser-Busch, which owns Bud Light, reached out to Captiv8 to attract young drinkers because the ad firm has cited data stating that 73% of Generation Z members would make a purchase based on a social media recommendation, according to a statement released by the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Tuesday.

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“It is surprising, however, that Captiv8 signed off on Mulvaney’s April 1st post even though it was neither age gated nor marked with a ‘paid partnership’ label as required by Instagram (and, arguably, the FTC’s endorsement guidelines),” Cruz’s letter read. “The failure to age gate meant the advertisement was guaranteed to be seen by Mulvaney’s followers, most of whom are under the age of 21.”

Cruz also sought answers as to whether or not Captiv8 was involved with a previous social media post from Mulvaney that was posted on Feb. 11. The ad firm has only confirmed its involvement with the post from April 1, which sparked calls for a boycott of the drink from conservatives.

The Feb. 11 post, which featured Mulvaney drinking Bud Light while taking a bath, was posted roughly seven weeks before the April 1 video, during which Mulvaney showed off a custom-made can Bud Light sent to celebrate the influencer’s one-year anniversary of transitioning. The post from February included the caption “#budlightpartner,” contradicting a statement AB InBev CEO Michel Doukeris made on May 4, 2023, when he said the company’s partnership with Mulvaney consisted of “one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign.”

In the wake of the Bud Light controversy, Captiv8 has had to downsize its employee workforce by 20%, letting go of 30 employees, according to a report. It is not clear if the fiasco with Mulvaney and Bud Light played a role in the reported layoffs.

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Last month, Anheuser-Busch reported a 13.5% decline in its third-quarter United States revenue per 100 liters, which is a key measure used for beer sales. Anheuser-Busch InBev also reported its sales to U.S. retailers going down by almost 17% “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light.”

Doukeris, however, is hopeful the brand will be able to make a comeback and cited a poll last month that stated 40% of ex-Bud Light consumers were willing to buy the drink again. He also stated the company has “a good grip on what we need to do” in the future.