Anheuser-Busch is trying once again to win back customers who have abandoned Bud Light. CEO Brendan Whitworth announced last week that he would be doing a listening tour this summer, traveling around the country listening to customers.

Does that satisfy disgruntled customers of Bud Light? Of course not. The company leadership still thinks its customers are stupid. Then, by Friday, Whitworth issued a statement about a three-point plan to win customers back. Check and see if you can spot what is missing.

“We recognize that over the last two months, the discussion surrounding our company and Bud Light has moved away from beer, and this has impacted our consumers, our business partners, and our employees,” the statement began. “We are a beer company, and beer is for everyone.”

“First, we are investing to protect the jobs of our frontline employees,” he said. “Second, we are providing financial assistance to our independent wholesalers to help them support their employees.”

“Our summer advertising launches next week, and you can look forward to Bud Light reinforcing what you’ve always loved about our brand – that it’s easy to drink and easy to enjoy,” he said. “As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best – brewing great beer and earning our place in moments that matter to you.”

What is missing? An apology. Just a simple apology would go a long way. Whitworth can’t being himself to do it. He knows that as soon as he apologizes, the alphabet brigade will come for him. Whitworth has chosen to appease them over his actual customers. He is doomed to fail and it is entirely self-inflicted. That listening tour is dead in the water before it even begins. He is not pleasing anyone. The actual customers of Bud Light feel insulted and rightly so. The alphabet brigade that demand special attention and recognition, which has nothing to do with beer sales, are fighting an injustice that is not there. When the woke marketing executive decided to make Dylan Mulvaney the face of Bud Light, using a social media influencer whose claim to fame was a year-long transition from male to female, they were happy. The transgender agenda is trying desperately to go mainstream. Little did companies like Anheuser-Busch understand that a tipping point would eventually occur and we are there now.

Americans have had enough. Regular Americans who live in the the heartland, who get up and go to work everyday and raise their kids and pay their bills, have had enough. The trans activists have done a great disservice to the gay community. A majority of Americans have taken a live and let live attitude about gay Americans. Those who just go about their lives and are far removed from the freaks in the Pride parades that turn off everyone, are not responsible for this yet they are being lumped in with the extremists. What a mess.

Protecting jobs and financial assistance to wholesalers is just the right thing to do. The employees who make the beer and those who sell it should not suffer for the tone-deaf ignorant marketing campaign launched by an incompetent marketing executive.

But a new commercial? Did the commercial that came out as the boycott was picking up steam stop the financial bleeding? Nope. Customers saw right through the phony baloney tugs at the heartstrings of viewers watching as Anheuser-Busch included a patriotic theme to its marketing pitch. Again, the company executives think you are stupid. Profits are down across the board for Anheuser-Busch beers, not just Bud Light.

No sympathy here. They have learned a hard lesson that never should have had to be learned. Know your customers. Don’t insult the loyal customer base with a woke agenda that appeals to a very small population. Most importantly, learn to apologize when you screw up. Just say, “I’m sorry. We screwed up. Please accept our apologies. We will do our best to win you back.” Done. Apologize, own the mistake, and promise to do better. Is that so hard?

Anheuser-Busch is entering the third month of a controversy that never should have happened. It’s summertime now. That’s some prime beer drinking time. There is no shortage of alternative choices in the beer market. Now is a great time to explore local breweries and support local businesses. Just a thought.