Why Are Idahoans Really Boycotting Bud and Miller

I might not make friends with this story and that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we all accept the real issue with the recent Miller Lite and Bud Light advertising disasters.

Let’s start by me being honest: I don’t drink beer. I do drink a lot of soda though and I’d be sad and mad if it were a ‘light’ version too. So, we can bond over that. But that would be based on the taste of the drink and not on the look of the can or the mascot used to promote it. If that were the case I’d never eat Cheetos because Chester Cheetah is annoying and I’d never eat at McDonald’s because I find clowns to be creepy. But I do eat Cheetos and McDonald’s and I even eat Little Debbie snacks, though they could be somehow promoting child labor if you wanted them to be.

OPINION: Idahoans Just Hate Light Beer

That’s the point, if you like something you’ll find a reason to accept it. If you hate something, you’ll find ways to feed your hate. I think people right now just secretly want to stop drinking light beer and they are using poorly implemented advertising as an excuse. Bud Light upset a portion of its demographic by sending custom beer cans to a transgender influencer as part of a contest and here's what Miller Lite did to make people mad.

Don’t get me wrong though, if you are boycotting because you truly believe the product or company has crossed a line that you feel is evil, go ahead and boycott. The taste of Bud Light hasn’t changed (that I know of) but it may leave a bad taste in your mouth due to their choice of spokesperson. I'm not sure what Miller Lite is going to taste like after their ad, but they did really focus on one word in that commercial. I don’t watch anything with Rosie O'Donnell or Tyra Banks because I can’t stand either of them.

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But, if you are just on the bandwagon of boycotting don’t blame the product. If you were one who was up in arms that Aunt Jemima was a black woman on a bottle and you don’t buy more of her syrup now or you can’t eat green, purple, or brown M&Ms because they are too sexy then what are you doing with your life? The use of the word ‘whitening’ in ads for toothpaste is considered offensive to some and sports teams' names and mascots are under fire for ethnic stereotyping.

I’m not going to pretend that I hate something that I actually like just because the world all of a sudden doesn’t accept it. I will throw out ‘your mom jokes’ and ‘that’s what she said’ at inappropriate times, even if it offends someone. We don’t have the luxury in this life to please everyone, and it’s not up to me to not offend you by saying or doing something I didn’t know you had an opinion about.

RELATED STORY: Bud Lite Sales Dwindle In Idaho

Be real with yourself and the world that you just want to drink a regular beer for a few weeks and then you’ll go back to the Lite/Light stuff.

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