Alissa Gordon Heinerscheid, the vice president of marketing for Bud Light, has been at the centre of a lot of criticism after an interview in which she talked about the brand’s new focus on being open to everyone
Heinerscheid said that Bud Light is no longer trying to appeal to “frat guys.” Instead, the focus is now on making sure everyone can enjoy the beer.
This comment comes after Budweiser worked with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney to promote its products, which caused a lot of backlash on social media and caused many customers to stop buying Budweiser.
Who is Bud Light marketing VP Alissa Gordon Heinerscheid who lead transgender Dylan Mulvaney ad campaign
Alissa Gordon Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing for Bud Light, is the first woman to ever lead the popular brand down the toilet. Looks like A white suburban mom not confident in her skin. #Budlight pic.twitter.com/85UNcREh3Y
— Laura (@teesandshorts) April 8, 2023
On the Make Yourself at Home podcast, she talked about the backlash and said that the company needs to change and get better. “What does evolve and elevate mean? It means inclusivity… it means having a campaign that’s truly inclusive and feels lighter and brighter and different. And appeals to women and to men,” she said.
But her words have caused more backlash, and some people have said that the brand is just trying to look politically correct without actually doing anything to be more inclusive.
Bud Light is now saying they aren’t selling any of the transgender cans to the public. pic.twitter.com/TqELZrY2Gr
— @amuse (@amuse) April 10, 2023
“We are ushering in a new era for this brand stripping away all the loudness and the distractions. Simple, sophisticated positioning would be more meaningful to modern consumers than some of the beer’s recent antics.”
-Alissa Heinerscheid
Marketing VP Bud Light
February 2023 pic.twitter.com/rCE0jvxcv2— TheRealBruceWayne (@LeftyKnoxJr) April 6, 2023
Heinerscheid went to the Wharton School and got her degree. She also has a Master of Business Administration degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language and Literature/Letters from Harvard University. She says that she is the “first woman to lead the industry’s biggest beer brand.”
She promotes "There is No Gender" but, she makes sure and list her self as "First female to lead the largest beer brand in the industry" Maybe she should add another hyphenated name "Hypocritia" Alissa Gordon Hypocritia Heinerscheid? https://t.co/Dv6L313jjK
— OPINIONATED TIMES (@JonnyBoomer60) April 9, 2023
Before she became Vice President at Anheuser-Busch, she worked in marketing at Tapestry Networks. Before she became the Associate Brand Manager of Listerine, she worked for that company for five years. In May 2015, she started working as a Director of Value Brands at Anheuser-Busch.
She has also worked as the Director of Bud Light Sports & Music, the Senior Director of Bud Light Communications, the VP of Direct Consumer Marketing, and then the VP of Drafting & Digital for the same brand. According to her official LinkedIn account, she became VP of Bud Light 10 months ago.
Focus on inclusivity receives mixed reactions
In recent years, brands in all kinds of businesses have been putting more effort into promoting diversity and inclusion. Some brands have been successful in this way, but others have been criticised for using buzzwords to promote diversity without actually doing anything to do so. It’s still unclear how Bud Light will move forward with its new focus on being open to everyone and whether or not customers will like it.