Useful tool or publicity stunt?

Probably a bit of both. In either case, you have to give credit to Consumers’ Research for having a clever idea and executing it well.

Capitalizing on the uproar surrounding Dylan Mulvaney’s stint as a spokesmodel for Bud Light, the conservative-leaning consumer group has launched a new tool called “Woke Alert.”

Woke Alerts have officially launched: now you can be the first to know when companies cave to the woke agenda ⬇️https://t.co/5vMcUT4s7U

— Consumers' Research (@ConsumersFirst) April 14, 2023

The intent behind this initiative finds its root in a 2021 decision at the organization to launch a new initiative targeting woke corporations and pushing back against their dangerous ideas, which go far beyond the embrace of transgender ideology.

They target ESG and all woke ideologies in major corporations, and have made that a focus of their organization. This is a very good thing indeed because Leftism is eating out the core of the free market and harming consumer choice.

I was unaware of the organization because it has been overshadowed by the larger Consumer Reports, but it actually is nearly a century old. Its focus on political ideology may be recent, but its pedigree is substantial.

Perusing the website makes one thing very clear: woke politics has become a staple of modern corporate America. They report on the spread of wokeness in specific companies and provide the receipts. Their message is clear: the people who can change corporate behavior are the consumers who provide the resources to make it possible. If you want to win the culture war you need to put your money where your mouth is.

Conservatives tend to be horrible at doing that, while liberals are less so.

I am skeptical about the effectiveness of boycotts per se; consumers, even politically motivated ones, are not especially faithful when it comes to linking their purchasing choices to politics. With that said, it is a lot easier when you place a target on the back of one or two and pound the message home, and it’s quite possible that the backlash against Bud Light will not be temporary because the alternatives are many and often superior, even if you are not a craft beer kind of guy.

Further, the Left started getting real traction in corporate America when it started putting external pressure on corporations on multiple fronts, including naming and shaming through scoring corporations. It is a kind of blackmail that has worked wonderfully, leading to the virtue-signaling mania that exists today.

The Human Rights Campaign created the corporate equality index that has driven corporations to engage in bizarre behavior such as hiring Dylan Mulvaney, so perhaps a similar campaign might make them shy away from such antics in the future.

Surely these campaigns have an effect, if consumers pay attention. And Left-wing consumers often do, although the Venn Diagram of left-wing consumers and Bud Light drinkers has less overlap than Budweiser thought. So perhaps corporations who serve middle America more than others might be persuaded to walk softly on these issues.

Unfortunately, another factor in corporate wokeness is the dominance of woke employees in critical positions of power. The new crop of college graduates being spat out by colleges and universities are brainwashed automatons who are committed to these causes, and it is unlikely that will change any time soon. Bud Light clearly has decided to ride out the backlash, and if Gillette is any indication they can probably do so.

Still, it’s a worthwhile effort and should be duplicated. The battle is far from over, however things look right now. To use a metaphor that is not entirely apt, World War II began with the Allies on the run and a string of hideous losses, but the sheer weight of numbers on our side led to an eventual and decisive victory.

We have our Winston Churchill in Ron DeSantis, who is rallying the troops, and the numbers are on our side. If we can rouse ourselves to fight back we have the ability to win this war in the end.