A Bud Light "Up for Whatever" slogan has left Anheuser-Busch apologizing after many on social media complained the label slogan and others in a new campaign were "tone deaf" to the role alcohol plays in rape incidents.
The label slogans feature what were intended to be good humor lines and were rolled out in December,
reported Ad Week. Anheuser-Busch said in a
news release that there were more than 140 messages in all connected with the campaign.
One of the slogans reads: "The perfect beer for removing 'no' from your vocabulary for the night. #UpForWhatever." It caught attention on Reddit on Monday and then on other social media websites, generating complaints that it was insensitive to the rape culture,
according to BuzzFeed News.
Anheuser-Busch issued a statement Tuesday saying that it never meant to offend anyone with the slogan.
"The Bud Light 'Up for Whatever' campaign, now in its second year, has inspired millions of consumers to engage with our brand in a positive and light-hearted way," the statement read. "In this spirit, we created more than 140 different scroll messages intended to encourage brand engagement. It's clear that this particular message missed the mark, and we regret it. We would never condone disrespectful or irresponsible behavior. As a result, we have immediately ceased production of this message on all bottles."
Lara Zwarun, an associate professor of communication at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, told the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Bud Light's #UpForWhatever campaign had the potential of facing such criticism and scrutiny.
"'UpForWhatever' is clearly about people doing crazy things and having unusual and fun experiences," said Zwarun. "For the (removing 'no' from your vocabulary) message to be part of that, it's not surprising that people are getting the wrong impression from it."