In a letter to wholesalers that was forwarded to some local bars and restaurants, the brewery addressed the backlash to a marketing campaign featuring transgender social-media influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which led to a steep decline in Bud Light sales over the last month.

“This was one single can given to one social media influencer,” the letter states. “It was not made for production or sale to the general public. This can is not a formal campaign or advertisement.” …

A-B’s letter was forwarded to retailers, bars and restaurants by Grey Eagle, a Fenton-based company that distributes Anheuser-Busch products to a 14-county region around St. Louis. Grey Eagle does not distribute to the city of St. Louis, Jefferson County and parts of Washington and Iron counties.

Grey Eagle included a cover letter. “Anheuser-Busch did not intend to create controversy or make a political statement,” it said.

[Yeah, that ain’t gonna cut it either. Not only is it a lame whine (or as David would say, whinge), it’s clearly dishonest. It may have been “just one can,” but the clear intent on Bud Light’s part was to get Dylan Mulvaney to promote it — as an “influencer,” the reason Bud Light picked him in the first place. Alissa Heinerscheid’s intent was to get lots of earned-social-media exposure through Mulvaney, only she and A-B got a lot more than they bargained for. The claim that this was not a “formal campaign” is simply a lie, and lying is not going to win back angry beer drinkers. — Ed]