Bud Light, Where “Up For Whatever” Means Getting People So Drunk They Can’t Say “No”
(reddit)
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UPDATE: Bud Light has issued a vague apology for the tagline, saying the company “missed the mark” in this case.
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As posted on reddit, the tagline on this Bud Light bottle reads:
“The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night,” followed by the requisite “#UpForWhatever” hashtag, because being “up for whatever” obviously means “spreading Bud Light’s marketing message in a way that can be tracked and quantified by our social media team.”
Given the role that alcohol plays in many things that would have been a “no” without a night of drinking — driving under the influence, sexual assault, vandalism, public urination, random “woot-woot”-ing as you ping-pong down the sidewalk — it’s probably not the best idea for a multinational multibillion-dollar business like Bud Light’s parent company AB InBev to publicly acknowledge that its product can lead users down a path to stupid consequences.
This reddit comment sums it up perfectly: “remember “No” always means “No”….especially if the question is: do you want a bud light?”
Bud Light came under fire during the St. Patrick’s holiday in March when its Twitter account suggested that being “up for whatever” meant randomly assaulting people on the street who dared to not wear green (and those who did wear green, because #UpForWhatever, right?). The company apologized to those who “misunderstood” its intentions, much like some people who turn a “no” into a “yes” will probably be doing a lot of apologizing (possibly from behind bars) the next morning.
We’ve written to Bud Light for comment on this tagline and will update if we hear anything back.
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