The Bud Light executive attempting to move the alcohol brand away from its ‘fratty’ image has appeared in old photos downing beer at a Harvard ‘boozefest.’
Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing for Budweiser, is seen in a series of leaked photos from 2005 at a Harvard social club event blowing up condoms and downing bottles of beers.
The photos come straight from Heinerscheid’s Facebook, under the album ‘Isis Senior Reverse Initiation Scavenger Hunt,’ before the business executive later deleted them.
The scavenger hunt appeared to be a part of the college’s Isis club – which was created to be a safe haven for women. But the event, which was held to discuss ‘the exploration of the scrotum professors,’ was extended to men. The club was referred to as a ‘haven of inebriated ditzes’ by the school newspaper.
Several people were quick to call out the executive’s hypocrisy after she said on a March 30 podcast that she wanted the Bud Light brand to move away from a fratty image and detract ‘young drinkers.’
Heinerscheid, who was the president of the club in 2006, has been in hot water ever since Bud Light partnered with transgender Dylan Mulvaney for their latest campaign.
Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing for Budweiser’s, was seen in a series of leaked photos from 2005 at a Harvard social club event blowing up condoms and downing bottles of beers. Pictured: Alissa Heinerscheid (right)
The photos came straight from Heinerscheid’s Facebook, under the album ‘Isis Senior Reverse Initiation Scavenger Hunt,’ before she deleted them
The scavenger hunt appeared to be apart of the college’s ISIS club – which was created to be a safe haven for women
The school newspaper referred to the club as a ‘haven of inebriated ditzes,’ according to The Daily Caller, who obtained the pictures
Several people were quick to call out the executive’s hypocrisy after she said on a March 23 podcast that she wanted the Bud Light brand to move away from a fratty image and detract ‘young drinkers’
Pictured: a young Alissa Heinerscheid, VP Marketing for Bud Light
On last months Make Yourself at Home podcast, the Harvard graduate stated that it was essential that the brand attract more female and younger drinkers because otherwise ‘there will be no future for Bud Light.
She said that she was convinced Bud Light must incorporate ‘inclusivity, it means shifting the tone, it means having a campaign that’s truly inclusive, and feels lighter and brighter and different, and appeals to women and to men.’
Heinerscheid claimed she had a ‘super clear’ mandate to ‘to evolve and elevate this incredibly iconic brand.’ She criticized Bud Light’s former marketing strategy as dated and male-focused.
‘We had this hangover, I mean Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out of touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach,’ the Wharton graduate argued.
Heinerscheid gave her expertise just three days before a furious backlash was unleashed when influencer Mulvaney released the Bud Light promotional on her Instagram page.
Mulvaney’s April 2 Instagram post included her drinking a beer with her face printed on the can and lying in a bathtub knocking back Bud.
The decision to work with Mulvaney angered many loyal customers, including country singer Travis Tritt, who made the decision to remove all of the products from his tour bus and Kid Rock, who shot at several cases of Bud Light.
A spokesman for the firm which makes Bud Light said: ‘Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics.
‘From time to time we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.’
Mulvaney’s April 2 Instagram post included her drinking a beer with her face printed on the can and lying in a bathtub knocking back Bud
Although Heinerscheid says the Bud Light brand is on the wane, it remains the flagship beer of parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev.
The Belgian multinational, the world’s largest brewer, saw its profits rise above expectations to more than 7 percent in the last quarter of 2023.
It reported last month its core profit – earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – was $4.95 billion.
Heinerscheid previously worked as a marketing guru at AB InBev before moving to take the helm as Bud Light’s vice president in July last year.
Her LinkedIn profile proudly states that she is the ‘first female to lead the largest beer brand in the industry.’
The beer executive was educated at the $60,000-per-year Groton School in Massachusetts before going on to Harvard where she studied English literature and then business school at Wharton where she took a master’s degree in marketing.
Bud Light is reeling from its controversial marketing strategy and has not posted on its official Twitter account for more than a week – prompting speculation there has been an internal shakeup as a result of the botched advertising campaign.
Given that the partnership with Mulvaney was unveiled during March Madness, the annual NCAA basketball tournament, it’s notable that the brewer did not at all tweet during the University of Connecticut’s victory over San Diego State in the championship game on April 3.
