Bud Light is trying to meme its way back into your fridge

• Bud Light posted a meme on Sunday that seemed to poke fun at the brand's handling of backlash it's faced.
• The backlash began in April, after Bud Light partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
• Public relations experts called the post a "disaster" that reflected how the brand has handled the backlash.

In an effort to win over consumers, Bud Light is trying to meme its way back into their fridges. 

A video clip posted on Sunday to Bud Light's Twitter and Instagram shows a woman eating a watermelon, a Bud Light can on a picnic table behind her while severe wind whips trash and sends people scurrying. The post is captioned, "It's fine, this is fine," echoing a popular meme that originated from a comic strip featuring a cartoon dog smiling and sipping coffee while flames consume his house.

—Bud Light (@budlight) July 9, 2023

Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch have been working on rebuilding the beer brand's image since it faced intense backlash and a drop in sales after partnering on a promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney back in April. 

Both conservatives and LGBTQ+ advocates have expressed unhappiness with the brand. Conservatives are calling for Bud Light boycotts, while advocates are asking the brand to support the transgender community. But Anheuser-Busch's US CEO Brendan Whitworth has remained steadfast in avoiding explicitly defending its partnership with Mulvaney.  

The recent post from Bud Light, though, seemed to meme-ify Bud Light's own handling of the backlash — silently waiting out the storm of outcry. 

A spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch did not respond to Insider's request for comment on this story.

Larry Kopp, founder of TASC Group, a  public relations and communications firm focusing on socially progressive clients, called the meme a "disaster."

"It reinforced the idea that Anheuser-Busch caused the problem, and they're sitting back and letting the problem continue around them," he said. "They've damaged their relationship with their main customer base and the LGBTQ+ community." 

Although the post may have been striving for a light-hearted tone, many comments expressed unhappiness with the brand. Overwhelmingly, comments called for Anheuser-Busch to apologize for partnering with Mulvaney.

But Kopp believes apologizing to one community and not the other will only create additional problems. Instead, Kopp said the brand should apologize for creating those divisions — something he believes the brand should have done at the start of the controversy. 

"They could have made it an American, patriotic message that we love all our neighbors no matter who you are. We should care about each other more and be less divisive," Kopp said.

Drew Kerr, brand communications consultant at Four Corners Communication, said Anheuser-Busch's handling of the backlash didn't reflect the Bud Light brand's central message: bringing people together over a beer — which is echoed in a statement Anheuser Busch's CEO released in April.

After months of backlash, Mulvaney posted a video, in which she said Bud Light never contacted her following the onslaught of online hate she faced after the promotion with the beer brand.

"As we've said, we remain committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community," an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson said in a statement to Insider when addressing Mulvaney's video. 

"Their response showed that partnering with Anheuser-Busch is a paper-thin agreement because if you're going to partner with somebody, it means you believe in them and what they stand for," Kerr said. "If they're going to be cowardly and run away from their partner, who is going to partner with Anheuser-Busch now?