this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2023
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Could Ben and Jerry’s go down like Bud light, or is their ice cream too darn delicious? (lemmyunchained.net)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by LachlanUnchained@lemmyunchained.net to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
36 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

It seems Ben and Jerry's may be next in the firing line after they made waves with a provocative 4th of July tweet claiming the US is on stolen Indigenous land. Could we witness a downturn similar to Bud Light?

Or is their irresistibly good ice cream strong enough to keep their ship afloat?

Edit: Side note - in the absence of B&J, what ice cream are you turning to? I’m in AUS. So B&J was a game changer. Not anything else like it that I’m aware of.

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[–] nehzqk@lemmy.ml 29 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Haven’t we always known Ben & Jerry’s political stance? They’ve been pretty upfront about stuff, so I don’t think this is a surprise to anyone. I’d assume if people cared about their politics, they already wouldn’t be buying from them.

[–] TechyDad 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Back in 2016, I got to taste a new flavor from Ben & Jerry's called "Feel the Bern" which showed their support for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary. Anyone who gets surprised that Ben & Jerry's is political hasn't been paying attention.

Then again, some people became shocked that Rage Against The Machine was political leading to a commenter asking "what machine did you think they were raging against?"

[–] DJDarren 4 points 1 year ago

“what machine did you think they were raging against?”

The one that George Soros uses to print all those cheques, obviously.

[–] LachlanUnchained@lemmyunchained.net 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Fair point.

I want aware of it.

[–] heartlessevil@lemmy.one 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's above the fold in their Wikipedia article, so it would appear that you didn't even google them before posting this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_%26_Jerry%27s

The company and its two founders have also been noted for their political activism and advocacy for social justice. This includes the way their products have been manufactured, marketed, and distributed.

[–] LachlanUnchained@lemmyunchained.net 1 points 1 year ago

No. I didn’t google them. I asked Lemmy….

Kinda the point of the community.

[–] DJDarren 14 points 1 year ago

While Ben and Jerry were still running the joint, they had a policy that the highest paid employee would never earn more than five times that of the lowest. B&J have always been based as fuck.

I mean, just read their Wiki article; a 50% of it is about how socially conscious they are/were as a company.

[–] DuzAwe@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

What down turn? Bud made more profit than average during the “boycott”

[–] LachlanUnchained@lemmyunchained.net 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Where are you getting your numbers?

The way they treated Mulvaney, was disgusting. Trotted out to try boost profits, it backfired. Then left em in a ditch. Could let even stick to their convictions.

[–] UprisingVoltage@feddit.it 8 points 1 year ago

That's rainbow capitalism for you

[–] TechyDad 5 points 1 year ago

It was the worst possible response. Had they stuck to their guns, the right would have remained angry, but the left would have been fine. By ditching Mulvaney over the "outrage," the left became upset and the right wasn't mollified.

[–] yads@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think their sales did go down and a bunch of execs stepped down iirc

[–] LinkOpensChest_wav 5 points 1 year ago

They also pulled support for Dylan Mulvaney and anything LGBT+

That whole arc feels bad

[–] br0da@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I would love Ben & Jerry’s on tap. Wait what was the post about again?

[–] LachlanUnchained@lemmyunchained.net 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Got a fave flavour?

[–] DJDarren 1 points 1 year ago

Phish Food. I could eat that shit for every meal and die a happy, bloated mess in a month.

[–] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Most brands would kill to "go down like Bud Light" considering they're more popular than ever.

[–] atheos@lemmy.atheos.org 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

yea, brands are just lining up to get this kind of publicity

[–] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I mean nobody cares about Twitter bubble outrage IRL though. Bud Light is found everywhere at restaurants near me.

[–] LachlanUnchained@lemmyunchained.net 1 points 1 year ago

Seems the lgbtq+ are pretty outraged too. https://apnews.com/article/35db706836ca38d5fe194c93a3f641ff

Genuinely feel sorry for them being trotted out in an attempt to be used for profit. Then just abandoned when shit got Real.

[–] LachlanUnchained@lemmyunchained.net 1 points 1 year ago

That’s not what they are saying.

[–] bobthened@feddit.uk 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Bud light saw a temporary drop in revenue because a big part of their market is right wing reactionary morons. Ben and Jerries doesn’t market towards those types, they’ve always been a relatively ethical and left(ish) leaning company. Saying something like ”the United States is on stolen indigenous land” will only make B&J’s more popular.

Also let’s not forget that Bud Light is just one of the several hundred brands that are owned by Anheuser Busch, the actual drop in revenue is basically nothing to them.

[–] LachlanUnchained@lemmyunchained.net 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well that’s not what they are saying. Dunno where you’re getting your data.

And why right wing? I’m talking after the lgbtq+ push back, after they refused to stand by their convictions and abandoned Mulvaney and the whole movement.

Are you cool with that?

https://apnews.com/article/35db706836ca38d5fe194c93a3f641ff

[–] bobthened@feddit.uk 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m talking after the lgbtq+ push back

I don’t believe you to be honest. I think you’re just saying that now to try to save face.

And if that was what you were talking about then your post makes even less sense than I thought. Why would an obviously true statement like “The USA exists on stolen indigenous land” made by a company that everyone already knows is sorta left leaning politically (and has been saying things like that for decades) ever piss off their market of the exact type of person who would agree with a statement like that?

[–] LachlanUnchained@lemmyunchained.net 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Check my comment history haha.

But good job avoiding everything in my comment in an attempt to avoid the subject.

You claimed it was “right wing reactionary morons”.

My point is I am talking “after the lgbtq+ push back”

Are you calling the lgbtq+ reactionary Morons?

Are you cool with how InBev has treated them?

The way I see it, this is an opportunity for the right and left to actually come together to some degree.

[–] bobthened@feddit.uk 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

None of what you're saying makes any sense. That's why I'm not acknowledging every single talking point.

Why would the left ever be annoyed at the kind of statements Ben and Jerries made??

[–] LachlanUnchained@lemmyunchained.net 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

It’s fascinating that you’ve decided to pigeonhole consumers and their reactions into simplistic ‘left’ and ‘right’ categories. As I stated before, Bud Light faced significant backlash. However, contrary to your assertion, it wasn’t just ‘right-wing reactionary morons’ but included a broad spectrum of customers, including those from the LGBTQ+ community. You might want to look into the reactions of Mulvaney herself. Is she too a reactionary moron?

You’ve conveniently chosen to focus only on left-leaning consumers when talking about Ben and Jerry’s, but customers are not monolithic. Their preferences, beliefs, and reactions to a brand’s actions are diverse and complex. Ignoring this reality is an oversimplification at best, and at worst, an arrogant dismissal of diversity.

(Also, congratulations on learning how to edit your comments Hahah)

[–] CodaChroma@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Pls just stop, the fancy words and walls of text won’t save you. It’s embarrassing, like a wannabe Ben Shapiro “It’s fascinating☝️🤓”

[–] LachlanUnchained@lemmyunchained.net 1 points 1 year ago

? More Reddit logic. Didn’t take long.

[–] bobthened@feddit.uk 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The backlash that Bud Light faced from LGBTQ people was not for the same thing that they faced backlash from the right for, it was because they left Dylan in the dust to fend for herself against hoards of angry reactionaries. Or in other words they pretended to be progressive and then immediately dropped their sponsor like she was mouldy apple as soon as it became even slightly inconvenient for them to keep up with that progressive facade.

They did that because their main market in the United States has always been largely conservatives. Ben and Jerries ice cream has never really been marketed towards conservatives (and also people don’t really identify with brands of ice cream like they with brands of beer), and they’ve always been very public with their political ideology. So they are a) very unlikely to face any kind of backlash for saying something progressive and b) very unlikely to retract any progressive statement/action if they were ever to receive a backlash for it because they have at least a modicum of integrity.

[–] LachlanUnchained@lemmyunchained.net 1 points 1 year ago

Cool. So InBev are filthy. Something we can all agree on.

Your point about B&J is valid. And I agree with that too.

[–] king_dead 7 points 1 year ago

Ben and Jerry's has always been based. I doubt they care if any cockroaches get mad

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