While Anheuser-Busch reels from the backlash over its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, another brand is jumping feet-first into the fire.
Over the weekend, media personality Oli London retweeted a post of Mulvaney “getting glam” with Maybelline, which has apparently joined the ranks of companies like Nike who think the best way to sell products to women is by mocking them. But if Bud Light’s $6 billion nosedive is any indication, the damages will be much more than cosmetic.
Within hours, the March 13 video went viral, lighting up social media with calls to #BoycottMaybelline. Several of London’s followers were at a loss, trying to make sense of the company’s rationale. “Why are all of these companies so intent on insulting women?” one asked. This is “a dude who portrays women as ditzy bimbos,” another fumed.
Melanie Johnson agreed, pointing out that “craziest thing about all of this” is that “we do not act like this when we put on our makeup [and] workout and honestly most of us don’t have time for a six pack of bud light while taking a bubble bath… We are usually taking care of children, our homes and working. This is not a representation of women at all. WTF[.]”
Several couldn’t believe Maybelline’s folly, insisting that the L’Oréal-owned line will become the new Budweiser. Together, they derided the brand’s longtime slogan: “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.” In this case, consumers pointed out, “He definitely wasn’t born with it.”
Of course, this isn’t the first cosmetic company that’s gotten torched for its relationship with Mulvaney. Back in October, Ulta Beauty brought the 26-year-old on its podcast to talk about “The Beauty of … Girlhood,” triggering an instant, nationwide uproar.
Along with “gender-fluid” host David Lopez, “You had two grown men tell actual women what it’s like to be a girl, as if they could have any earthly idea,” “Relatable’s” Allie Beth Stuckey tweeted. “That has nothing to do with beauty; it’s lunacy, and it’s insulting.”
Frankly, Madeleine Kearns argued on National Review, “transgenderism is the new blackface.” “Perhaps the greatest silver lining of the transgender movement has been how it exposes the follies of disregarding sex and sexual difference. ‘Womanface’ is the new blackface. It’s time to get outraged.”
Meanwhile, in St. Louis, the cautionary tale that is Anheuser-Busch continued in full disaster-recovery mode. After a two-week shellacking, CEO Brendan Whitworth finally took the hint and put marketing VP Alissa Heinerscheid on leave for her prominent role in the fiasco. The millennial executive, who insisted hyping gender dysphoria was the way to grow the brand, was quickly disabused of that notion by everyone from national distributors to country music stars.
“Given the circumstances, Alissa has decided to take a leave of absence which we support,” an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal. “The decision,” the Journal notes, “wasn’t voluntary, according to people familiar with the matter.”
Her boss, Daniel Blake, also didn’t escape the senior management’s wrath. Blake, “who oversees marketing for Anheuser-Busch’s mainstream brands,” had been with the company almost a decade when he and Alissa approved the Mulvaney-faced cans that plummeted the company into global chaos and made the beer a mainstream pariah.
According to the latest numbers from NielsenIQ, Bud Light sales were down an astonishing 17% in dollars and 21% in volume for the week that ended April 15. “These numbers are staggering,” Insights Express insisted. “Right now, this is an extremely difficult scenario for Anheuser-Busch, the Bud Light brand, and for AB distributors.”
Budweiser’s implosion should have scared off plenty of CEOs, but as The Political Forum’s Stephen Soukup has argued, most executives fall into two categories: the true believers (the honest woke) and a much larger group of executives who don’t buy the radicalism they’re embracing. But the honest woke are the dangerous ones. They’re the group that doesn’t care about money nearly as much as ideology. If they need to financially kamikaze to advance their agenda, they’ll do it.
“I think we’re way past the point where companies are dabbling in trans activism simply to appeal to a wider audience in order to grow their bottom line,” Family Research Council’s vice president for branding, Jared Bridges, told The Washington Stand.
“They think they’re doing a moral good by making people like Mulvaney as the face of their brand. And in their ‘moral’ universe, this is more important than the company’s profit margin. Corporations who are still beholden to shareholders should take a long look at whether or not they want these ideologues running their brands,” Bridges warned. “They might just run them into the ground.”
Misery loves woke companies. And if Nike, Disney, Bud Light, and others can’t quit their trans extremism, recent history proves: Americans will quit them.
Article cross-posted from The Washington Stand.
Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
