Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took aim at Bud Light by producing a parody of the brand’s popular “Real Men of Genius” ads with transgender athletes.
In response to Bud Light’s controversial partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, team DeSantis created a commercial featuring the “real men of women’s sports.”
Bud Light debuted the original sixty-second spots in 1998, which mock glorified the eccentric traits and habits of men.
The humorous commercials were narrated by Pete Stacker, who read mocking tributes to the men, while Survivor’s Dave Bickler lyrically parroted his statements to 80’s style music.
DeSantis new ad, which promoted his Freedom Heavy merchandise collection, included clips of various transgender female athletes dominating women’s sports categories.
“Today, we recognize the men who hacked the system,” the commercial’s narrator states. “Once mediocre in the men’s division, now cream of the crop in the women’s.”
“You couldn’t cut it with the boys, so you pushed women off the podium. Because without you, sports would be fair. Without you, women’s sports would be for well, women.”
DeSantis’ spoof ad heavily featured former UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas, who became the first transgender person to win an NCAA Championship in the women’s 500 free category in 2022, despite being a middle of the pack athlete when she competed as a man.
The Florida governor blasted Thomas without directly naming her, while speaking at Liberty University on Friday.
“It is wrong to have a swimmer compete for three years on the men’s swim team, switch to the women’s team, and then win the women’s national championship,” he remarked. “That is a fraud. That is wrong.”
DeSantis threw his support behind the movement to boycott Bud Light during an exclusive interview with “The Benny Show.”
“Why would you want to want to drink Bud Light,” he responded when asked for his hot take on the Mulvaney controversy.
“Honestly, that’s like them rubbing our faces in it,” DeSantis continued. “These companies that do this, if they never have any response, they’re just going to keep doing it.”
He noted that if consumers go along with Bud Light’s controversial marketing choices without taking a stand that has so far cost them nearly $7 billion, they’ll continue to move forward with woke marketing strategies.
“We have power as consumers to make our voices heard, and not on every company, because sometimes conservative consumers aren’t going to make a dent in some companies,” DeSantis continued.
“This one is one [of them]. If you don’t have conservative beer drinkers you’re going to feel that.”
He said that the boycott was a “righteous thing,” and noted that though consumers occasionally justify woke advertising as a one-off “stupid thing to do,” brands are trying to manipulate the nation with ad campaigns.
“It’s part of a larger thing where corporate America is trying to change our country,” DeSantis pointed out.
“Trying to change policies, trying to change culture, and I’d rather be governed by ‘we the people’ than woke companies.”
“So I think that push back is in order across the board, including with Bud Light,” he concluded.
When Benny Johnson asked DeSantis if he would ever drink Bud Light again, he responded, “No, I don’t think so.”
Four House Democrats clearly don’t share the same view, and staged a widely mocked image of themselves awkwardly holding bottles of the brew.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) tweeted a snap of himself and fellow California Democratic Reps. Mark Takano, Judy Chu, and Adam Schiff, stiffly posing with Bud Lights in hand.
The picture was mercilessly ridiculed online. “Telling me you’ve never drank @budlight without saying you never drank @budlight,” former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker replied.
“This photo is more damaging to the brand than Dylan Mulvaney in the bathtub,” radio host Gerry Callahan added.
“Worst party ever,” actor Dean Cain wrote.
When someone accused the foursome of “pandering to the base with a staged photo,” Lieu admitted the snap was staged.
“Wait, you actually thought there was a possibility that it was totally coincidental that all four of us chose to have Bud Lights, and have them face the camera, and then send the picture out during the middle of a stupid boycott by MAGA Republicans?” He replied sarcastically.