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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The national media hide these types of local stories because they destroy the preferred narrative.  However, the open border leftist policies are opposed by every cross-cultural faction of ordinary Americans, including the predominantly black community of South Shore Chicago.  Keep in mind the DNC convention for 2024 will be held in Chicago.

Watch the response from local residents as the City Council attempts to hold a meeting to inform the public of their decision to place 250 to 500 illegal aliens in housing at South Shore High School.  There are hundreds of illegal aliens currently camped out in police stations around the community and the residents of the area are sick of it.

This video shows the issue of illegal immigration cuts across all political boundaries.  The officials in charge are disconnected from the will of the people.  This conflict is going to escalate across the country as millions of illegal aliens are now pouring through the southern border soon to occupy the land space in all major metropolitan areas.  WATCH:

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CHICAGO -A community meeting Thursday evening on plans to turn a former high school in the South Shore neighborhood into a temporary shelter for migrants got tense.

“Build the wall. Make a border.” “Put them on the North Side.” Those were some of the words attendees shouted during the meeting at South Shore International College Preparatory High School. City officials hosted the form to detail their plans to turn the former South Shore High School building, 7627 S. Constance Ave., into a respite center.

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Media are reporting a decision in a copyright lawsuit between the estate of Marvin Gay and singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran.  The jury has found Ed Sheeran did not violate any copyright infringement.

This sort of issue is not generally anything that interests me.  However, I watched a great video a few days ago that encapsulates the issues in the lawsuit very well, and it presents an interesting set of questions.   This is a really good video even if you have not paid attention. WATCH:

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Gifted singer, songwriter and the connective thread that runs through the memories of our lives, Gordon Lightfoot, has died. He was 84.

A gifted Canadian artist from ordinary means, Mr. Lightfoot’s hits include, “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Early Morning Rain,” “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” and “Sundown,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1974.

 “Sometimes I wonder why I’m being called an icon, because I really don’t think of myself that way,” Mr. Lightfoot told The Globe and Mail in 2008. “I’m a professional musician, and I work with very professional people. It’s how we get through life.” (NYT)

One of his great song lines, …”the hero would be me, but heroes often fail.”   Gordon Lightfoot’s songs are sprinkled throughout multiple links in the chain of our lives. Each song reminding us of our memory attached to the moments of it.  This passing hits a little harder.

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