Anson Frericks
Appearances
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
Yeah, no, Charlie, thank you so much for having me today. And you're absolutely right. I mean, this really was sort of the tipping point. And when Bud Light did the sponsorship with Dylan Mulvaney, I think that was a red pill moment for most of America when they said, we've just had enough of corporations getting involved in political issues.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
We saw when the NFL got involved with having half their players kneel and accepted it. We saw companies like Disney who all of a sudden were promoting all of a sudden parental rights in Florida issues that were going on.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
And then when Bud Light, I mean, the most American of brands, the most American of beers, all of a sudden starts doing this controversial partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, this is really when people had enough. And this is when you actually saw customers left in droves. They lost millions of customers. The company lost billions of dollars of shareholder value.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
Their profits plunged by $2 billion as well. And this is when all of a sudden you actually saw more companies take a step back and look at some of the really controversial, divisive businesses.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
DEI and ESG policies that have been implemented across corporate America by sort of the Biden administration, by asset managers like BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard, by a bunch of consultants like McKinsey. And this is when all of a sudden corporations actually took a step back and said, you know, maybe we don't need all this. Maybe this isn't good for business.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
Maybe we need to sort of reevaluate where we are as a company. And, oh, the pendulum is starting to swing back. This is still very relevant. As you've seen, certain companies like McDonald's, like Walmart are and like Tractor Supply Company have kind of stepped back. But other companies are really leaning in. Just this week, you have Costco, JP Morgan have doubled down on their DEI policies.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
And then now there's been a lawsuit that's been filed by a lot of DEI officers at companies that are trying to undo some of Trump's recent legislative agenda. So this is very much still a topic that is alive. And I think we're going to not be seeing the end of the DEI movement anytime soon.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
Absolutely it has, Charlie. I mean, you've just seen that Bud Light, which was the biggest beer brand in America, had lost 30% of their sales, 30% of their customers. Other brands that they have, Budweiser, plunged as deeply. And then even took growth brands they have, Nickelodeon Ultra and Bush Light. All of a sudden those started plunging also. So it's had a huge effect on the stock price.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
At the same time, the broader stock market has been up almost 40%. So Bud Light down 20, 30 percent, broader stock market up 40 percent. So it's had a massive effect. And it's not just at Bud Light. Companies like Target, very similar.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
When Target two years ago got involved in Pride Month and they were having to tuck friendly bathing suits, as you might recall, their stock is down double digits over that time period where their biggest competitor, Walmart, who Walmart has taken a big step back. Walmart ditched their divisive DEI policies. They were more focused on the customer.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
Walmart stock has doubled over that same time period. So I think it's very clear that you're starting to see this really diversion happen. Companies that are leading into controversial DEI, ESG agendas, they continue to shed customers, whereas ones that are kind of sticking up for their customers, just focused on providing great product and services, sticking to their mission.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
Those businesses are going to thrive, especially, I think, in the coming years. And I think those businesses are gonna add a ton of value to their share price. And then also I think they're gonna add a lot of value to just our broader sort of American environment.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
But the private sector and companies used to be an area where people could come together, whether you were black, white, gay, straight, Democrat, Republican, who cares, and just work on the mission of a company, be united around that.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
And then all of a sudden the workplace became a very fragmented environment over the last couple of years with companies taking very controversial stands on defund the police initiatives, on overturning election integrity laws, Roe v. Wade. And there was no reason for this. I think that further inflamed a lot of the division in this country. Some companies have learned their lesson.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
I think other companies have not. And that sort of message is, I think, still being written and will continue to be written over the next couple of years. And we'll see really some companies separate themselves and others continue to fall behind. based off who's going to get involved in political issues moving forward.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
Yeah, there's a short story and a long story. So the short story is that the company really, they adopted really divisive ESG and DEI policies. Now, a lot of corporate America was doing this at the exact same time.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
They adopted these policies because a lot of people that own Anheuser-Busch tend to be these large asset managers like BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard, that get a lot of their money from progressive institutions like the state of California, state of New York, European sovereign wealth funds.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
And there was a big push by these organizations, especially when Trump was first elected, and pulled out of global organizations like the Paris Climate Accord, UN Human Rights Coalition, World Health Organization, that all of these large progressive institutions said, if now Trump in government is not going to solve these so-called existential crises of climate change, of systemic racism, of police brutality, then all of a sudden we need corporations to do this.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
And for large, mostly progressive, New York and East Coast-based institutions like BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard, that managed $20 trillion worth of capital. Those were the ones that all of a sudden were the single largest shareholders in companies like Anheuser-Busch, Target, Disney. And they started telling these companies that we need you to start solving all these problems.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
And the companies really, unfortunately, didn't have much of an opportunity to push back because these companies, they vote for shareholder proposals every single year at companies. They put companies in ESG index funds, which is our funds that you invest money into hoping that the companies are going to return return capital.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
And they were threatened to be not put in these funds or to not have the support of these large asset managers that were using other people's money to foist these policies on them. And so unfortunately, Anheuser-Busch was uniquely susceptible. The company was bought by a European company called InBev about 10 years ago.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
This European company allowed them to unfortunately switch the ideology away from sort of American values and just focus on the bottom line, focusing on shareholders, more towards this European model of being beholden to your stakeholders, being involved in programs like ESG and DEI. So the company all of a sudden switched their focus.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
From Clydesdale's winning the Super Bowl ad meter award every single year.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
Greatest, greatest. This was by far the company that was the best in terms of winning Super Bowl ad meter. They won more of them than any other company, but haven't won one since 2011.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
These guys were trend followers. They were not leaders. This used to be a company that was leaders in America, leaders in terms of setting culture, leaders about humor. And to your point, they had a clear mission historically, that Bud Light was supposed to be easy to drink, easy to enjoy. It was the most popular beer in America because it was enjoyed by people across the political spectrum.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
Everybody loved Bud Light because it was about humor. It was about football. It was about bringing people together. It was authentic. It was not Ben & Jerry's. Ben & Jerry's is a brand that tells you that we use ice cream to advance a socially progressive mission.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
So, great, if you're eating Ben & Jerry's, it's free market, you know, go eat it, you know that you're going to be supporting defund the police causes and giving land back to Native Americans and all kinds of things. Ben & Jerry's does. But if you drank Bud Light, you were just about, I mean, this is using the VP of Bud Light at the marketing, it was kind of a fratty beer. That's what it was.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
And it was a fun beer. It was kind of the life of the party. And that's what they really lost. when they tried to switch the company more from just one folks on submission, easy to drink, easy to enjoy, to one that was about a more socially progressive beer. And that's where they really got caught, Charlie.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
When all of a sudden they do this partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, it blows up in their face. You have Kid Rock that's using the AR-15 to be able to take out a bunch of Bud Light cases. And now the company all of a sudden, because they had adopted an ESG-DEI policy, they couldn't apologize. Totally. to their loyal customer base.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
But they couldn't also go and say that we're kind of more about the Ben and Jerry's type of brand because they're going to lose even more sales.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
So in the book, Last Call for Bud Light, I don't think they've learned their lesson because here's the deal. If this company's ever going to be redeemed in their customers, really the path to redemption, it goes through forgiveness. But to be forgiven, you have to admit that there was a mistake. So I think this book, it talks about not only the mistake of broader forgiveness,
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
corporate America getting involved in ESG, DEI programs that didn't deliver any shareholder value and were more divisive. But it really uses the story of Bud Light and uses the story of this company to tell that story to really make it easy to understand for folks because Bud Light was the biggest brand.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
So we'd love you to read Last Call for Bud Light to learn more about what went wrong in corporate America and to learn what Bud Light needs to do to move forward and get its customer base back.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
Thanks, Charlie.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Defunding the Globalist American Empire + The Fall of Bud Light
Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Glenn, es ist wirklich interessant, wenn man sich über den ganzen Druck auf ESG und DEI denkt. In meiner Meinung hat es wirklich mit dem Verlust von Bud Light angefangen. Das ist, als ich dachte, dass du all diese regelmäßigen, täglichen Leute hattest, die sagten, Man, you know, yes, I did not like when the NFL had all the players kneeling.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Yeah, I hated when Disney got involved in the criminal rights issues. But man, when Bud Light, which was the working man's everyday citizen beer, when all of a sudden they're promoting Dylan Mulvaney and everything that goes along with Dylan Mulvaney, that's when I think people actually really said enough is enough. They stopped buying the beer. Customers left by the millions. Stock price cratered.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
It's something crazy that they still haven't figured it out and there hasn't been a comeback at all.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Ja, absolut. Und Glenn, du warst vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
which is creating great products services that actually creates more sustainable businesses but as many corporations over the last five to ten years adopted this klaus schwab european stakeholder view which was foisted on them by the black rocks the world who were taking money from Also, was hat...
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Yeah, I mean, I don't think many of these people believed in these programs, but unfortunately they were foisted on them by the Black Rocks, State Streets, Vanguard, who are the single largest shareholders in most of these companies. And then you have this whole ESG industrial complex built around this.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
McKinsey, one of the most influential management consulting companies, had their diversity matters, diversity wins, DEI studies that told companies that they needed to improve their DEI. And of course, they could hire McKinsey for millions of dollars to help them figure out how to do that.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
You had the Human Rights Campaign, which is this activist non-profit organization that starts scoring companies. You talk a lot about the social credit scores. The Human Rights Campaign was doing this to companies and shaming them. Es gibt keine richtigen Transgender-Polizisten. So, the Bud Light, you know, the end of, I think, I agree with you, the end of
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
No, I mean, I think the pendulum is definitely swinging back. But I mean, you really see sort of businesses dividing in two camps. You have certain companies that I think have realized that these policies have failed and they want to get back to the bottom line. You've seen companies like Meta and Walmart and Tractor Supply Company and a bunch of other people that have pulled back their programs.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
But then you have companies that are more in progressive cities. Costco has doubled down. Costco is based out of Seattle. They're doubling down on their DEI programs. You have other companies, and I talk about this a lot, but even Anheuser-Busch, which is owned by a Belgian corporation called InBev, that they haven't necessarily publicly backed down.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
I mean, this was the company that lost the most from this whole movement, and they still haven't publicly backtracked, even though a lot of their American counterparts have, because again, they're owned by a European company that promotes more of these values.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
I think that's where you're starting to see this divide, and the companies that continue to hold on to, I think the DEI and ESG philosophies are going to continue to fall behind their American counterparts. So,
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
You're right. Ja, 100 Prozent. Ich denke, dass es einen gefährlichen Cocktail gab, den ich seit fast zehn Jahren bei Anheuser-Busch gemixiert habe. Und ich habe das gerade gesehen. Also, der kurze Hintergrund ist, dass Anheuser-Busch, der von der Bush-Familie, der großartigen amerikanischen Familie, verwendet wurde, wurde von einer europäischen Firma namens InBev 2008 übernommen.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Und InBev war in Belgien, und es wurde auch von ein paar brasilianischen Individuen gestartet. Und sie kamen hier in die USA, und in fünf Jahren, und sie haben wirklich viel von Anheuser-Busch entdeckt, auch und vor allem im Jahr 2015, haben sie die Corporate Headquarters von St. Louis, Missouri, in New York City gewechselt. Oh ja. Anheiser Busch, St. Louis, Missouri.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
You heard that your whole life. Das ist es. Sie haben sich durch das Epochzentrum von der Mitte des Landes bewegt. Es ist immer das Gleiche, wenn man in Peoria spielt. Peoria, Illinois ist sehr nah an St. Louis. Da gibt es ein ganzes Mikrokosmos der USA, das hilft, den Zentrum der USA zu verstehen. Sie haben sich in New York bewegt.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Sie haben New York-Agenzien, New York-Marketing, New York-Folk eingeladen. Das hat sich wirklich verändert.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Ich denke, die Ausgabe der Firma, kombiniert das mit dem Wachstum von ESG und DEI, was wirklich in diesem 2015-2021-22-Zeitraum aufgenommen wurde, für einen gefährlichen Cocktail gemacht hat, den sie einfach verloren, wer ihr Kunde war und wer dieser körperliche amerikanische Biergärtner war.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Ich meine, ich habe es in erster Linie gesehen, dass ein Unternehmen eine große Veränderung hat. Ich meine, du kannst mehr darüber lesen in dem Buch Last Call for Bud Light. Aber
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Eine der großen Dinge, mit denen ich frustriert war, besonders im 2020-2021-Zeitraum, nach Covid, nach George Floyd, die Firma, die diese Meritokratie war, das ist es, mit der ich gegründet habe, hey, du arbeitest hart, du wirst promotiert. Und eines der wichtigen Prinzipien der Firma war, wir promotieren, basierend auf den Ergebnissen, die du bekommst.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Und dann hat sich plötzlich das Prinzip verändert, wir promotieren, basierend auf der Diversität deines Teams. And then you started having diversity dashboards that are coming in to see the diversity of your team. And on top of that, we couldn't even get just partnerships done that I thought made tons of sense. I talk about this in the book a lot.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
I tried to do a distribution agreement with Black Rifle Coffee Company. And you probably know Black Rifle Coffee Company. Oh, yeah. Ihr Ziel ist es, Kultur und Kaffee zu servieren, Feuerwehrleute, Anwesende, Polizei, Menschen, die Amerika lieben. Aber das war zu kontroversial für eine Partnerschaft im Jahr 2021 und Anfang 2022. Das ist verrückt.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Und für mich, und das war unser external affairs Team in New York, Sie haben diesen Deal aufgrund ihrer eigenen politischen Bedingungen verabschiedet. Ich sagte, Leute, die gleiche Person, die eine 6-Pack von Budweiser am Abend trinkt, ist die gleiche Person, die 6 Kuppen von Black Rifle Coffee Company am nächsten Morgen trinkt.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Und was bedeutet das, dass wir keinen Distribution-Deal machen können, wo wir die gleichen Black Rifle Coffee Cans auf die Budweiser-Trucks legen? Und das macht Sinn für alle. Aber das war zu kontroversial für die Partnerschaft. Und das ist, wo man das Zentrum der Gravität sah, wenn man Amerika durch die Länge von Fifth Avenue in New York schaut, versus St.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Louis, Missouri, where I think you really lose sight of who your customer is.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Nein, ich meine, es ist wirklich so. Und ich spreche in diesem Buch viel darüber, dass die gleiche Organisation, das gleiche external affairs team, das das Black Rifle Coffee Deal beendet hat, die waren diejenigen, die das Dylan Mulvaney-Partnership grünlichten. Und anders als Coca-Cola, ich meine, Coca-Cola hat einen schlechten Marketingvergleich gemacht, aber was haben sie gemacht?
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Sie haben eine Behandlung dafür gemacht, sie haben sich dafür verabschiedet, sie haben einen neuen Coke getötet in, ich weiß nicht, ein paar Monaten, und dann sind sie zurückgegangen. Einer der großen Probleme ist, dass man schlechte, schmutzige Marketingvergleiche regelmäßig im Geschäft macht.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
The real problem here is like, yes, the marketing partnership is wrong, but even more importantly, the company's response to it is the reason, Glenn, like sales are still down 40%. Wow. The stock has still lost $40 billion of value and has not recovered before this because the company never took a responsibility and accountability and has not made any changes. The same CEO is still there.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
They still have not come out and enrolled back publicly a lot of their DEI policies. They haven't apologized. They're loyal customer base. They called fratting out of touch. And they haven't been able to admit and say, we screwed up. And I think part of that is because of this kind of European ownership that they have.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
And my feeling is that they're not actually going to get their Bud Light customers back, no matter how much money they throw at Dana White and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which I think they gave him $100 million. They have Shane Gillis. They have others. Because the real path to redemption, I mean, it goes through forgiveness. You know this.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
But the only way to be forgiven is actually to admit there was a mistake and there was an error. And they have yet to do that. And until they do that, I don't think a lot of these customers are coming back, no matter what marketing you give folks.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Yeah, so, you know, it's funny. So I left Anheuser-Busch one year before that deal in Mulvaney Partnership after they wouldn't let me do the Black Rifle deal. They wouldn't let me. I saw the company changing from a diversity standpoint. And Vivek and I, we started a company called Strive Asset Management, which was we were going to invest everyday citizen dollars into businesses that
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
And have them be focused, once again, on meritocracy. Have them be focused on their mission. Don't necessarily get involved in a lot of political and social issues. Like we saw, I was living in actually Atlanta, Georgia, if you remember, Glenn, in 2021, when Governor Kemp signed the Georgia Voting Rights Act. He said, you need to have an ID to vote. And corporate America lost its mind.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
BlackRock, one of the very first companies, said, we're against this law, we're pushing back on it. Then they kind of compelled Coca-Cola, Delta to get involved in this and push back. And Major League Baseball canceled the All-Star Game in 2021 in Atlanta. over this Georgia Voting Rights Law. You need to have an ID to vote.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
So we saw a lot of these problems happening and we came out and we said, we're going to start a new asset manager, compete against BlackRock. Let's have companies just focused on whatever their mission is. Stay out of politics. That will be good for business because you're not going to fracture your customer base.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
It's going to be good for our democracy as well because we should have individuals are the ones should be deciding what rules they live by, not these Supernational Organisations or ESG Promoting Asset Managers. And it was funny, when we originally launched, this was not only a contrarian position, this was almost like a subversive position in 2022, three years ago.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
People called us everything, anti-ESG, anti-DEI, anti-woke. Yeah, anti-everything. Anti-everything. And I said, guys, we're just pro-American, free market, shareholder capitalism. That's what we are pro. Wir sind gegen europäischen Stakeholder-Kapitalismus, wir sind gegen die Weltwirtschaft, wir sind gegen diese europäischen Agenda.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Ja, wir sind das, aber wir sind sehr viel pro-amerikanischer freier Markt-Shareholder-Kapitalismus. Und ich meine, es gab viele Leute, die mit uns nicht zusammenarbeiten würden. Marketing-Agenzien würden nicht mit uns zusammenarbeiten, Leute würden mit uns zu Beginn nicht zusammenarbeiten.
The Glenn Beck Program
Bud Light Insider Reveals What Led to Dylan Mulvaney Controversy | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Und es ist so lustig jetzt, weil jetzt, drei Jahre später, was eine sehr kontrarierte Idee war, ist jetzt sehr mainstream geworden. Und das Pendulum hat sich wieder zurückgewandt, glaube ich, für die meisten der Corporate Amerikaner, die sich jetzt wieder auf ihr Geschäft konzentrieren wollen.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Glenn, es ist wirklich interessant, wenn man sich über all den Pushback von ESG und DEI denkt. In meiner Meinung hat es wirklich mit dem Verlust von Bud Light angefangen. Das ist, als ich dachte, dass du all diese regelmäßigen, täglichen Leute hattest, die sagten, Mann, ja, ich mag es nicht, wenn die NFL alle Spieler abhängt.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Ja, ich hasste es, als Disney mit den Problemen der Prämienrechte involviert wurde. Aber Mann, als Bud Light, das war der arbeitende Mann, der tägliche Bürgerbier, als sie plötzlich Dylan Mulvaney und und alles, was mit Dylan Mulvaney zusammenhängt. Das ist, warum ich denke, dass die Leute wirklich genug gesagt haben. Sie stoppten, die Bier zu kaufen. Die Kunden sind von den Millionen verlassen.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Der Stockpreis ist ein Krater. Es ist verrückt, dass sie es noch nicht herausgefunden haben. Es gab noch nie einen Rücktritt.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Ja, absolut. Und Glenn, du warst vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor allem vor was großartige Produkte und Dienste ist, das tatsächlich mehr nachhaltige Unternehmen erzeugt.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Aber so wie viele Unternehmen in den letzten fünf bis zehn Jahren diese Klaus Schwab-Europäische Stakeholder-Ansicht adoptiert haben, die von den Black Rocks der Welt gefeuert wurde, die Geld von sehr prozessiven Pensionen in Kalifornien, New York und europäischen Souveränwährungsbanken verdient haben.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Ich meine, wir sahen, dass das die wenig nachhaltigste Sache ist, die ein Unternehmen machen kann. Was ist das?
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Yeah, I don't think many of these people believed in these programs, but unfortunately they were foisted on them by the Black Rocks, State Streets, Vanguards, who were the single largest shareholders in most of these companies. And then you had this whole ESG industrial complex built around this.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
McKinsey, one of the most influential management consulting companies, had their diversity matters, diversity wins, DEI studies that told companies that they needed to improve their DEI. And of course, they could hire McKinsey for millions of dollars to help them figure out how to do that.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
You had the Human Rights Campaign, which is this activist non-profit organization that starts scoring companies. You talk a lot about the social credit scores. The Human Rights Campaign was doing this to companies and shaming them if they didn't have the right transgender policies in place. They didn't have So, the Bud Light, you know, the end of, I think, I agree with you, the end of
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
No, I mean, I think the pendulum is definitely swinging back, but I mean, you really see sort of businesses dividing in two camps. You have certain companies that I think have realized that these policies have failed and they want to get back to the bottom line. You've seen companies like Meta and Walmart and Tractor Supply Company and a bunch of other people that have pulled back their programs.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
But then you have companies that are more in progressive cities. Costco has doubled down. Costco is based out of Seattle. They're doubling down on their DEI programs. You have other companies, and I talk about this a lot, but even Anheuser-Busch, which is owned by a Belgian corporation called InBev. that they haven't necessarily publicly backed down.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
I mean, this was the company that lost the most from this whole movement, and they still haven't publicly backtracked, even though a lot of their American counterparts have, because again, they're owned by a European company that promotes more of these values.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
I think that's where you're starting to see this divide, and the companies that continue to hold on to, I think the DEI and ESG philosophies are going to continue to fall behind their American counterparts. So...
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
I think that there was a dangerous cocktail mixing for almost 10 years at Anheuser-Busch. And I kind of saw this firsthand. So the quick background is Anheuser-Busch, which used to be this great American-owned family by the Bush family, it was taken over by a European company called InBev in 2008. Und InBev war in Belgien und dann war es auch von ein paar brasilianischen Individuen.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Und sie kamen hier in die USA in über fünf Jahren und sie hat wirklich viel von Anheuser-Busch entdeckt, auch in der Jahre 2015. Sie haben die Corporate Headquarters von St. Louis, Missouri, in New York City gewechselt. Oh ja. Anheiser Busch, St. Louis, Missouri. You heard that your whole life. Das ist es. Sie haben sich in die Mitte des Landes bewegt. Es ist wie in Peoria.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Peoria, Illinois ist sehr nah an St. Louis. Es gibt einen ganzen Mikrokosmos von den USA. Das hilft, die USA zu verstehen. Sie haben sich in New York bewegt. Sie haben New York-Agenzien, New York-Marketing, New York-Folk gegründet. Das hat sich wirklich verändert.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Ich denke, der Ausblick der Firma, kombiniert das mit dem Wachstum von ESG und DEI, was wirklich in diesem 2015 bis 2021, 2022 Zeitraum aufgenommen wurde, für einen gefährlichen Cocktail gemacht hat, den sie einfach verloren, wer ihr Kunde war und wer dieser koreane amerikanische Biergärtner war.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Ich meine, ich habe es als erstes gesehen, dass ein Unternehmen eine große Veränderung hat. Ich meine, du kannst mehr darüber lesen in dem Buch Last Call for Bud Light. Aber
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Eine der großen Dinge, mit denen ich frustriert war, besonders im 2020-2021-Zeitraum, nach Covid, nach George Floyd, die Firma, die diese Meritokratie war, das ist, worauf ich gegründet habe, war, hey, du arbeitest hart, du wirst promotiert. Und eines der wichtigen Prinzipien der Firma war, wir promotieren, basierend auf den Ergebnissen, die du bekommst.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
Und dann hat sich plötzlich das Prinzip verändert, wir promotieren, basierend auf der Diversität deines Teams. And then you start having diversity dashboards that are coming in to see the diversity of your team. And on top of that, we couldn't even get just partnerships done that I thought made tons of sense. I talk about this in the book a lot.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
I tried to do a distribution agreement with Black Rifle Coffee Company. And you probably know Black Rifle Coffee Company. Oh, yeah. Its mission is to serve culture and coffee to firefighters, first responders, police, people who love America. But that was too controversial of a partnership in 2021 and early 2022. And for me, it was our kind of external affairs team in New York.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
They essentially scuttled this deal based off of their own political leanings. I said, guys, the same person drinking a six-pack of Budweiser at night is the same person drinking, you know, six cups of Black Rifle Coffee Company the next morning. And what do you mean we can't do a distribution deal where we're putting those same Black Rifle Coffee cans on the Budweiser trucks?
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
And this makes sense for everybody. But that was too controversial of a partnership. And that's where you saw just that center of gravity when you're looking at America through the lens of Fifth Avenue in New York. versus St. Louis, Missouri, where I think you really lose sight of who your customer is.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
No, I mean, it really has. And I get into this in the book a lot about that same organization, that same sort of external affairs team that canceled that Black Rifle Coffee deal. They were the one that greenlit the Dylan Mulvaney partnership. And unlike the Coca-Cola, I mean, Coca-Cola, they made a bad marketing mistake. But what did they do? They took accountability for it.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
They apologized for it. They killed New Coke within, I don't know, a couple of months. They were going back to the whole thing. Eines der großen Probleme ist, dass man regelmäßig schlechte Marketingverletzungen in der Geschäftsführung macht.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
The real problem here is like, yes, the marketing partnership is wrong, but even more importantly, the company's response to it is the reason, Glenn, like sales are still down 40%. Wow. The stock has still lost $40 billion of value and has not recovered before this because the company never took a responsibility and accountability and has not made any changes. The same CEO is still there.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
They still have not come out and enrolled back publicly a lot of their DEI policies. They haven't apologized to their loyal customer base. They called fratting out of touch. And they haven't been able to admit and say, we screwed up. And I think part of that is because of this kind of European ownership that they have.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
And my feeling is that they're not actually going to get their Bud Light customers back, no matter how much money they throw at Dana White and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which I think they gave him $100 million. They have Shane Gillis. They have others. Because the real path to redemption, I mean, it goes through forgiveness. You know this.
The Glenn Beck Program
Best of the Program | Guest: Anson Frericks | 2/20/25
So, the name of the book is Last Call for Bud Light, the Fall and Future of America's Favorite Beer. You're streaming the best of Glenn Beck.