Re: One Year Later: How Bud Light's Dylan Mulvaney Fiasco Pushed Beer Industry To Rewrite Its Ad Standards - Trans influencer could have to delete Bud Light posts that blatantly violate new beer industry guidelines

In article <[email protected]>,
 Ubiquitous <[email protected]> wrote:

> It was one year ago, on February 11, 2023, that Dylan Mulvaney, the 
> transgender-identifying social media influencer, posted a video of 
> himself drinking Bud Light in a bathtub-- a paid promotion that 
> permanently altered not only Bud Light's reputation, but now also the 
> ad standards for the entire beer industry.
> 
> While Bud Light dealt with the public outcry and a nationwide boycott 
> over its partnership with Mulvaney, it fought a less high-profile legal 
> battle over whether the promotion of beer by Mulvaney-- who often 
> presents on social media as an entertainer for kids-- was compliant 
> with industry standards that ban marketing alcohol to minors.
> 
> U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), both members 
> of the Commerce Committee, wrote a letter on May 17, 2023, that sparked 
> a formal review by the beer industry's self-regulating body, the Beer 
> Institute, into whether Bud Light was targeting minors through its ads 
> with Mulvaney.
>
> The charge was reviewed by the Beer Institute's "Code Compliance Review 
> Board", which in a July decision found that Bud Light did not violate 
> its Advertising and Marketing Code, but just two months later that code 
> was quietly revised-- the Advertising and Marketing Code that beer 
> companies are required to adhere to now includes new language on social 
> media influencers that would appear to forbid any brewer from working 
> with Mulvaney.

> Anheuser-Busch did not respond to a request for comment on the Mulvaney 
> posts, and whether it has reviewed them since the updated standards 
> were released. Mulvaney also did not respond to inquiries.
> 
> The Beer Institute declined to comment on whether any action has been 
> taken regarding Mulvaney's posts since the standards were updated, and 
> whether any action is required.

> Both of Mulvaney's posts tagged with #budlightpartner remain 
> unaltered on Instagram.

The subject line is misleading when it says "Trans influencer could have 
to delete Bud Light posts that blatantly violate new beer industry 
guidelines".

Mulvaney is under no obligation to do anything. She/he/it is not a 
member of the Beer Institute and has no obligation, legal or otherwise 
to follow its rules, especially considering she/he/it's posts didn't 
violate the rules when they were posted. Mulvaney is no longer in 
privity of contract with Bud Light and is under no obligation to conform 
to the new rules that were changed *after* she/he/it's posts were 
uploaded.