Supposedly Non-Woke UFC Announces “Nine Figure” Bud Light Partnership
USINESS AND ECONOMY COMMENTARY
Supposedly Non-Woke UFC Announces “Nine Figure” Bud Light Partnership
By Will TannerOctober 25, 2023
The UFC won over a large number of its conservative fans by framing itself as a non-woke alternative to other sports, particularly sports like football and basketball that always go along with the current thing and engage in advertising and behavior that alienates their conservative viewers. Hence, people like Trump and his family are showing up to UFC events: it’s conservative coded.
Or, at least, it was. Dana White and UFC might have just put that credibility with conservatives in the shredder by announcing a massive partnership with Anheuser-Busch, the company that owns Bud Light, among other brands. It’s also the company still struggling under the weight of it’s Dylan Mulvaney mistake.
Announcing that partnership on its website, Anheuser Busch said, “UFC®, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization and part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), together with Anheuser-Busch, one of America’s most iconic companies, today announced a new multiyear marketing partnership. Effective January 1, 2024, the brewer will become the exclusive “Official Beer Partner of UFC.” With this sponsorship, in the U.S., Bud Light will bring easy enjoyment to 21+ fans with 360-degree programming, including custom social and digital content, broadcast integration, on-site presence, and more.”
Explaining the massive Bud Light promotion UFC will now engage in, the statement added, “AB InBev, the world’s leading brewer and global parent company of Anheuser-Busch, will be UFC’s Official Global Beer Partner and will receive a deep level of integration into key UFC assets, ranging from live events, including broadcast features and in-arena promotion, to original content distributed through UFC’s popular digital and social channels. Through UFC’s far-reaching global footprint, AB InBev will have meaningful brand visibility before more than 700 million fans in 170 countries, as well as an estimated 900 million TV households that receive UFC’s broadcasts.”
