Finding solid information, accurate data, to update the perspective of the ongoing boycott of Bud Light products is a little challenging. You would think the data would be easily found; alas, in this era of hyper partisanship, data that would reflect the truth of the situation is less visible. Go figure.

That said, this market share report from Union does give us a little more perspective on the outcome.  According to the market share report, the decline in Bud Light sales overall is 34.2% over the past six months.  Interestingly, some regions have much larger declines than others. For California, “Union reported only minor changes in market dominance in the state. Bud Light’s sales share in California slid by 0.8 points to 6.6%, while Miller Lite’s sales share increased by 1.7 points to 12%.”

(Via MSM) – The hospitality consumption data platform Union reported a significant decline in Bud Light’s sales share in the Carolinas. From April through June 30, the brand’s sales share dropped by 6.9 points, falling from 19.4% to 12.5%. This decline has been attributed to the fallout from Bud Light’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, which sparked controversy and calls for a boycott.

[…] Local bar owners in the Carolinas have also reported a significant impact on Bud Light’s sales. For instance, Chris Dimattia, the owner of Recovery Room Tavern in Charleston, SC, mentioned that he used to sell 10 cases of Bud Light each week, but now only sells one to three cases of the boycott brew, resulting in a 70% to 90% drop in sales. At Blind Tiger Pub, another Charleston bar, Bud Light sales are described as “almost non-existent” by general manager Clayton Dukes. Dukes expressed his concern that the boycott may persist for an extended period, prompting him to replace Bud Light draft with Michelob Ultra due to the low sales.

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Arguably one of the most influential and longest lasting brilliant singers who was uniquely capable of crossing multiple generations of song, all while retaining that same smile.  The legendary and irreplaceable Tony Bennett has died at the age of 96.  Wow, what a life!

In the latter part of his career, with incredible and smooth duets with female pop stars (1990 – 2020), I once remarked that Bennett’s specific style of charm reminded me of a human Quokka, simply because of that incredible and authentic smile he carried.  The guy was a class act.

Shine on Mr. Bennett. The sounds in heaven just got a whole lot more jazzed…

(Variety) […] He was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto in Astoria, Queens, New York on Aug. 3, 1926, to Italian immigrant parents; his father was a grocer, his mother a seamstress. Raised in poverty, he began singing as a child, and studied music and his other lifelong love, painting, at New York’s High School of Industrial Art. His vocal influences included Al Jolson, Bing Crosby and, later, Frank Sinatra, as well as such female singers as Billie Holiday and Judy Garland.

Drafted at 18 in 1944, he served in World War II’s European theater, doing combat infantry duty and liberating a German concentration camp. After the end of the conflict, he sang as a member of an Armed Forces band.

On his return from service, he studied voice with Miriam Spier in the American Theatre Wing. He cut his first, unsuccessful sides for independent Leslie Records in 1949, as “Joe Bari.”

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There has been a great deal of increased discussion surrounding the issues of automated Artificial Intelligence, colloquially called “AI.”

At the central core of the AI issues in communication; you inevitably enter a discussion on the issue of definitions and terms.  Who is determining the definitions of what constitutes valid information? Who is determining what types of information are not valid, not approved for communication networks and how are their definitions being applied?

A solid and short-read thread on the assembly of people, groups and institutions surrounding the issue of AI in communication and media is presented HERE.

[Article/Thread LINK]

The topic of AI in general is a very large conversation.  The topic of AI specific to communication is equally large and perhaps even more significant.

AI applied to communication must first establish a need for it to exist.  Within that discussion, government interests and corporate interests take large seats at the table.  Social media platforms, communication outlets, almost the entire technology sector and various special interest groups are also stakeholders in the discussion of how AI can be applied to the filtering of information – or what I would more appropriately call the CONTROL of information.

The predicate of the conversation jumps around a little, but the issue of defining reality is throughout the discussion.  This is where my prior warnings about defining information must be emphasized.  I am losing the current argument, but I retain optimism that eventually the control mechanisms will need to be destroyed by a generation that falls under its influence.

“There is no such thing as “disinformation” or “misinformation” or “malinformation”.  There is only information.  There is information you accept and information you do not accept.  You were not born with a requirement to believe everything you are told; rather, you were born with a brain that allows you to process the information you receive and make independent decisions.”

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Anheuser Busch continues to lose market share according to the latest statistics shared by Bump Williams consulting firm. In the key period just before the July 4th holiday, sales of Bud Light dropped another 28.5% compared to the prior year.

The initial sales decline which began in April continues.  The ongoing boycott against Bud Light appears to be holding firm.

CNN – […] For the four weeks ending on July 1, Modelo Especial captured 8.7% of overall beer sales, compared to Bud Light’s 7% share, according to NIQ data given to consulting firm Bump Williams. Dollar sales for the pre-July 4 period continued to be grim for Bud Light, with sales falling 28.5%, while Modelo’s grew 8.5% during the same time period. (more)

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There’s a lot of background discussion about this latest issue created by Elon Musk signing a pledge to support the socialist (communist) economic enterprise systems under the control of the Chinese Communist Party.

Most of the current discussion is focused on the weak ideological ‘free-market and democratic’ commitment exhibited by Musk’s adherence to the rules and dictates of the Chinese state.  However, I’m staying far outside the esoteric and nuanced implication of this.  The reality is much simpler.

Elon Musk is in a dire financial situation; he cannot afford to be high-minded and ideologically connected to free-speech and free-enterprise right now (if he ever was).

The Musk empire is in a very weak financial position; these decisions made, while China is holding such financial leverage over him, are made without option.  Ironically, Twitter is banned in China. lolol

(Via Daily Mail) – […]  Elon Musk’s Tesla was the only foreign company in the lineup of 15 other automakers to sign the letter.  Part of Musk’s pledge was a promise to support China’s ‘core socialist values’ and bear ‘the heavy responsibility of maintaining steady growth.’ 

The automakers also agreed not to ‘exaggerate or use false publicity and disrupt fair competition with abnormal pricing,’ according to Bloomberg. 

China accounts for one third of Tesla’s annual sales, reports the FT. The communist country is Tesla’s second-largest market after the U.S. and the Shanghai plant is the electric car maker’s largest production hub. 

Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher with Human Rights Watch, criticized Musk’s moves, telling the FT: ‘Failing to comply with ‘core socialist values’ has been frequently used by authorities to punish speeches that are critical of the Chinese government.’  (read more)

Once you strap onto the ride with the dragon, you don’t get off until the ride’s over.

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Things are not looking good for France as a fourth night of riots, violence, looting and general chaos is worsening. “President Macron was last night facing calls to impose a state of emergency after marauding gangs of rioters – some armed with stolen rifles – clashed with police in a fourth night of mayhem.”

(Via Daily Mail) – […] Rioters were again seen rampaging through the streets of Marseille, Lille and Paris, amid claims looters broke into a gun shop and stole hunting rifles while others ransacked a police station. Cars, buses and government buildings have been set alight and fireworks have been launched at police.

There were more than 3,800 fires on public roads last night, while more than 500 buildings were set alight.

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As Anheuser Busch continues supporting alphabet “pride” and transgender grooming rallies around the nation, the sales of their products continue declining. However, that did not stop the marketing and advertising sector from awarding “creative marketer of the year” to Anheuser Busch at Cannes Lions, which is dubbed the “Oscars for the advertising industry.”

[New York Post] – Sales of Bud Light suffered their steepest weekly drop yet since the beer brand launched its disastrous tie-up with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney, according to the latest data.

In the week ending June 17, sales of the Anheuser-Busch brand fell by an eye-popping 28.5% versus a year ago, according to the most recent sales figures issued by Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ.

That eclipses last week’s 26.8% decline, which beat the previous week’s fall of 24.4%.

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Yeah, he really did that. Folks, I’m not sharing this to be snarky about Ron DeSantis per se’, this isn’t actually his messaging. It’s worth looking at this through the prism of who is operating the management, branding and communication effort. This level of ridiculous religious pandering is stunningly identical to Ted Cruz in the early 2016 GOP nomination.

The DeSantis campaign knows they need to target evangelical and faith-based voters. Put a group of people who are not actually centered on the principles of faith in charge of a political campaign, tell them they need to appeal to faith-based voters, and this is exactly what you get.

The DeSantis campaign organizes what should be an interview with friendly allies in the Christian Broadcasting Network. [Full Interview Here]  CBN’s David Brody then interviews Ron DeSantis asking him what historic figures he would associate himself with. DeSantis’s answer is so far beyond pandering cringe, it makes you seriously wonder who constructed this messaging for him [likely, Jeff Roe]. WATCH:

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Grandma’s rules apply to me providing any further commentary on the issue, but wow – just wow.

That campaign must be under so much external pressure from the GOPe donors, it’s unreal to watch.

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It was bound to happen anytime a significant brand leader loses 25% of its total market share. According to data provided to Fox News, Budweiser Light beer lost its #1 ranking in the U.S. in the month of May as the critical days of summer sales begin.

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the negative brand image now created for the product. Factually, the only thing that can reverse the trend for the product is time and diminished memory. As consumers associate the brand with a lifestyle, the use of the product will continue to drop. Holding a Bud Light beverage right now is akin to identifying yourself as a transfemme, or wearing pink pants.

(Fox News) – Bud Light lost its top spot in the U.S. beer market last month, as the brand’s sales sagged following a conservative uproar over its partnership with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Constellation Brands’ Modelo led the market as it nabbed 8.4% of beer sales from retail stores in the four weeks that ended June 3, according to NielsenIQ data from consulting firm Bump Williams. Bud Light trailed with a 7.3% share.

Bud Light sales fell 24.6% in the period year over year, while Modelo sales jumped 10.2%, the data shows.

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Twitter platform owner Elon Musk has confirmed the hiring of Linda Yaccarino as CEO of Twitter. Many reactions are happening, but CTH analysis generally likes to stay ahead of the reactions and more into the future of what each datapoint means.  That said, here’s some context.

The general or more common logic, completely understandable, is to look at the hiring of Yaccarino as binary.  Either Musk was previously lying about everything he believed in, or the revenue situation is at a critical mass. Otherwise, it really doesn’t make sense to bring in Linda Yaccarino.

Before going deeper, it is critical to know just how ideological Linda Yaccarino is.  The former head of NBCUniversal is the apex voice in the system of promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) from an advertising perspective.   I’m not talking about a little bit ideological, I mean the full dna-level, metastatic, this is the core essence of what makes Yaccarino believe she has purpose in life.

Changing social culture by leveraging commercial enterprise is Yaccarino’s life work.

Literally Linda Yaccarino believes that advertisers should determine the product being sold. This is not a spoof, exaggeration, hyperbole or a spin on her outlook. Yaccarino believes marketing and advertising executives should be able to control the physical content, the actual stuff, created by the publisher they pay to advertise their product.

A traditional example might be Ford Motor Company telling Motor Trend magazine what positions to place ads for competitors in the auto industry as a contingency for their ad spend.  A modern example might be Disney telling Fox News what content may be discussed by Tucker Carlson.  This is the origin of DEI ideology controlling platform content.

To understand how this mindset applies to Twitter and Elon Musk, watch a few minutes of this previous interview between Yaccarino and Musk at a convention of advertisers. This is an example of how the NBCUniversal executive thinks.  WATCH (prompted):

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