A Masterclass in the Collapse of Woke Culture With Anson Frericks (Video)

Maybe it’s because of the business Mike Rowe is in, or maybe it’s because he has been personally boycotted on several occasions. Or maybe it’s just because he used to drink a lot of beer. Whatever the reason, Mike found himself fascinated by the demise of Bud Light, and the way in which one of America’s most enduring brands managed to destroy decades of good will with a single, boneheaded decision, followed by a complete unwillingness to fix it. What a story.
 
In this 5 February 2025 video, host Mike Rowe sits down with Anson Frericks, a former executive at Bud Light who had a front row seat to the events which led to one of the greatest marketing disasters in modern history. His new book, ‘Last Call for Bud Light’, is fantastic, and our conversation, modesty aside, is absolutely worth your time.
 
What happened at Bud Light was not unique to Anheuser Bush. Over the last decade or so, dozens of companies and corporations have slowly abandoned their commitment to building “shareholder value” in favor of building something called “stakeholder value”, specifically, at the insistence of Blackrock, State Street and Vanguard. Known as The Big Three, these massive institutional investors manage over $20 trillion of American wealth, some of which is almost certainly in your IRA or 401K. They have also led the charge to elevate a long list of causes which focus on DEI, (diversity, equity and inclusion,) and more significantly ESG, (Environmental Social Governance.) 
 
Beneath the marketing debacle at Bud Light is the story of how the Big Three applied extraordinary pressure to the thousands of publicly traded companies they now influence. Pressure to hire based on color, ethnicity and sexual preference. Pressure to fall in line with all sorts of climate-related dogma. Pressure to embrace a long list of social justice and environmental causes that have absolutely nothing to do with fairness or meritocracy, and everything to do with elevating a cosmetic agenda around identity, race and social activism. 
 
What a relief to see America finally awaken from this fever-dream of sanctimony and virtue-signaling. What a relief to see so many companies and corporations finally come to their senses, as they backtrack from so many ill-conceived policies. Hopefully, this excellent book will inspire other business leaders to avoid the mistakes which were made at Bud Light, or better yet, encourage them to start listening to the only stakeholders that matter—their customers.

https://youtu.be/2ZxuQZtp0MM

00:00 Business getting into politics
08:06 The adoption of ESG and DEI 
18:31 The Covid effect
23:51 Anheuser-Busch’s advertising 
31:32 Diverting from meritocracy 
40:28 Anson partnering with Vivek Ramaswamy
47:17 The Dylan Mulvaney partnership
56:26 The aftermath for Bud Light
1:04:38 The need for transparency
1:09:09 Future of Corporate America