Bud Light’s well-known “Up For Whatever” campaign, the centerpiece of its last two Super Bowl ads, took a sharp left turn this week. The company has apologized for the newest #UpForWhatever-based slogan, which adorns beer bottles and cans across the country, in light of women’s right advocates pointing out that the slogan could be interpreted as condoning rape.
The controversial slogan? “The perfect beer for removing ‘No’ from your vocabulary for the night.” Which is really a perfect storm for Budweiser. Removing “No” from one’s vocabulary is kind of the whole lighthearted point of “Up For Whatever.” It’s supposed to mean that you’re willing to take chances, go crazy, do the unexpected, have a wild time, and the like. (And play a giant, live-action game of Pac Man.)
But “Whatever” can also turn unexpected and undesirable in a big hurry. And so social media response to this particular slogan–one of several the company prints in conjunction with #UpForWhatever–was swift:
.@budlight is trying to say they didn’t know they were making references to raping someone. How else do I read this? pic.twitter.com/1k7rfjK3PQ
— Lyndsay Kirkham (@Lyndsay_Kirkham) April 28, 2015
A discussion of the slogan on Reddit also considered whether a drunk person could say “No” to driving himself home.
In pulling this particular label, Budweiser issued the following statement:
The Bud Light Up for Whatever campaign, now in its second year, has inspired millions of consumers to engage with our brand in a positive and light-hearted way. In this spirit, we created more than 140 different scroll messages intended to encourage brand engagement. It’s clear that this particular message missed the mark, and we regret it. We would never condone disrespectful or irresponsible behavior. As a result, we have immediately ceased production of this message on all bottles.
What do you think? Was this a bridge too far, or just far enough? Will you still reach for a Bud Light when you want something crazy to happen? Or did you reach for one in the first place?
(Photo credits: Bud Light via Facebook; label via Twitter; skeptical dog via Flickr)
