Coors Light will proceed with sponsoring a Denver LGBT Pride parade this week, despite the sharp criticism that followed Bud Light’s partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. The company was a primary supporter of the Coors Light Denver Pride Parade, part of the city’s wider two-day PrideFest.
Coors is not the only sponsor of the PrideFest, which also includes major companies such as Chevron, Amazon, JP Morgan Chase and more.
Coors Light throws caution to the wind-sponsors Denver Pride Paradehttps://t.co/hk5EKSZUET
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The event’s organizers wrote on their website that “Molson Coors has proudly earned a perfect 100 score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which measure[s] companies’ internal LGBTQ+ policies and external practices.”
It cited a “distinguished history” of donations from Molson Coors to a number of LGBT causes. It added that the beer giant earned a citation by Human Rights Campaign (HRC) as one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality.”
“Thanks to support from companies such as Molson Coors, Denver PrideFest has become the largest celebration of LGBTQ pride in the Rocky Mountain region,” the organizers said. “With more than 250 contingents, the 2022 Coors Light Denver Pride Parade is the largest in its history.”
The company said that “Coors Light has been a proud sponsor of the Center on Colfax and the Pride Parade and Denver PrideFest” over the last two decades.
Coors is not the first beer company to enter into wider cultural issues.
In April, Bud Light announced its partnership with Mulvaney, which sparked a widespread boycott of the beer.
Bud Light’s sales have fallen significantly since the start of the public boycott, losing about 25% of its sales. The company has attempted to pivot its message, recently releasing a summer-themed commercial.
The company’s parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev has also suffered a significant drop in its stock price.
Social media posts show store shelves with few cases of Bud Light sold and the company recently committed to buying back unsold beer from distributors.
Miller Lite also issued a feminist-themed commercial that poked fun at traditional marketing efforts, including a focus on attractive women.
