Budweiser Says Backlash to Its Immigrant Ad Already Seems to Be Tapering Off

Brand doesn't want to be politically divisive

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On Tuesday Budweiser released its 60-second spot for the Super Bowl. The epic showcases co-founder Adolphus Busch’s journey from Hamburg, Germany to St. Louis. In the days following its release the ad has become the subject of much debate—is it a pro-immigrant message? Is it a response to President Trump’s executive order?—and the reason for a social campaign calling for a boycott.

But how is all of the impacting the brand? According to a person familiar with the matter, Budweiser saw “a flare of negative reactions on Monday night and into Tuesday morning (following a Breitbart tweet)” but “as of today, that has tapered and sentiment on social is mostly positive (people saying they like the ad) or neutral (people sharing the ad)—about 73 percent positive as of today.”

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