The ad agency that introduced trans activist Dylan Mulvaney to Bud Light in "serious panic mode" amid controversy
The fallout following the business partnership continues after the beer brand experienced a massive drop in sales
The company, Captiv8, specializes in connecting companies to influencers for advertising initiatives
The ad agency that introduced trans activist Dylan Mulvaney to Bud Light is now in "serious panic mode" amid the controversy that resulted from the partnership between the two parties.
The fallout from the business relationship between the transgender influencer and the beer brand continues following massive drops in sales for the latter. A recent report also noted that a San Francisco-based marketing firm is in chaos due to the controversial reception of Bud Light's partnership with Mulvaney.
Ad Agency in Chaos Amid Bud Light-Dylan Mulvaney Backlash
The advertising company, Captiv8, specializes in "end-to-end influencer marketing" and assists major brands in connecting with influencers across social media to help with advertising initiatives, as per the Western Journal.
The report did note that despite the ad agency introducing Bud Light and Mulvaney to each other, it was unclear just to what extent Captiv8 was involved in the actual campaign that became so controversial.
However, just being attached to the widely opposed partnership of Bud Light and Mulvaney was enough to send Captiv8's office into chaos. An unnamed source from the New York Post said that the company was internally in panic mode.
They added that there was a lot of conversation that was happening among employees regarding the potential consequences of the controversial issue. There have been very few if any, advertising campaigns that have caused similar levels of consequences as the Bud Light-Mulvaney partnership.
It was not immediately clear whether or not Captiv8 was also responsible for the recently infamous beer can that featured Mulvaney's image. The company, which claims to have a database of more than 1 million influencers across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, did not respond to requests for comment regarding the issue, according to the New York Post.
Captiv8's Role in the Controversial Issue
The company was co-founded by Krishna Subramanian in 2015, who helped the agency work together with various popular brands, such as Walmart, American Express, Twitter, and KraftHeinz. Subramanian is known for being a Silicon Valley investor who sold BlueLithium to Yahoo for $300 million in 2017.
Subramanian, in February, spoke about the importance of viral videos around blockbuster ad events such as the Super Bowl. In a statement, he said that the best way to think about TikTok is that it is a way to take a consumer to the checkout line.
The situation developed after Bud Light's parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, placed two executives on leave in April. These were the two that were responsible for the Captiv8-presided partnership and were identified as the vice president of marketing Alissa Heinerscheid and her boss, Daniel Blake.
The Belgian-based company immediately insisted to distributors after the backlash that the trans activist's beer can was not their doing. They argued that it was made by a then-unnamed "third-party" ad agency that was also responsible for the video and several others that marketed the partnership, said the Daily Mail.
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