Miller Lite scrubs ‘woke’ Women’s History Month ad amid backlash

Miller Lite

Miller Lite, the popular American beer brand, recently withdrew a contentious advertisement released in March for Women's History Month, following a wave of criticism that the brand had embraced 'woke' culture.

Initially posted on March 7, the ad titled "Bad $#!T to Good $#!T" started trending on social media this week, prompted by efforts to show that other companies besides Bud Light were pushing “woke” propaganda on their customers.

The video pledged to correct the brand's historically sexist advertising, which often featured women in bikinis, and committed to donating fertilizer to women brewers for "quality hops" cultivation.

Actress Ilana Glazer, who hosted the video, started by asserting that women were the pioneers of beer brewing, accusing the industry of not adequately acknowledging women. She criticized the industry's past approach by saying, "Centuries later, how did the industry pay homage to the founding mothers of beer? They put us in bikinis. Wow."

WATCH:

Miller Lite said to Bud Light, “hold my beer,” and decided to create a new ad campaign straight out of early 2010s “I hate all men” feminism to sell a drink to customers they hate. pic.twitter.com/9gTnP9rNik

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 15, 2023

Glazer went on to describe Miller Lite's commitment to rectifying not just their own past but the entire beer industry's mistakes, leading a toast to women and declaring, "Without us, there would be no beer."

Despite being posted a couple of months ago, the video recently received significant negative attention, with many users accusing Miller Lite of pandering to “woke” culture and misreading its primary consumer base.

In what seems to be a response to the backlash, Miller Lite removed the video from all its social media platforms. Nonetheless, a Molson Coors spokesperson, the parent company of Miller Lite, stood by the campaign in a statement to the New York Post.

They explained, "This video was about two things: worm poop and saying women shouldn’t be forced to mud wrestle in order to sell beer. Neither of these things should be remotely controversial and we hope beer drinkers can appreciate the humor (and ridiculousness) of this video from back in March."

This backlash comes amidst an ongoing boycott campaign against Miller Lite's competitor, Bud Light, over its contentious endorsement of trans activist and influencer Dylan Mulvaney last month.

Bud Light has seen a customer exodus in recent weeks, with nationwide sales plunging 23.4% compared to last year, as per data from Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ.