Many companies have tried to capitalize on Bud Lightâs devastating decision to use transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney to promote its brand, but one is trying to pick up where Bud Light left off.
That company is Gay Water.
It launched Thursday with several colorful vodka and soda beverages that proudly represent the gay lifestyle.
As some companies have steered away from LGBT activism in hopes of not repeating Bud Lightâs mistake, Gay Water intends to stand out with its unabashed celebration of Homosexuality.
For example, the companyâs website features a video about anal sex.
The email submission form on the Gay Water site reads, âFill our hole.â
âThe key issue that Bud Light tapped into was the fact that they didnât understand their core audience and know enough about them,â company founder Spencer Hoddeson, who â as you might have guessed â is gay, told CNN.
From Hoddesonâs perspective, the problem with Anheuser-Busch is that the company didnât publicly defend its transgender Bud Light promotion amid the conservative boycott.
âThey just went silent, and I think in 2023, you have to be communicating because people communicate themselves if theyâre not hearing from you,â he said.
Gay Water is taking a very different approach.
The brand is named after a popular mixed drink ordered at bars by members of the LGBT community, according to CNN.
âWeâre creating a brand that creates representation, particularly in spaces where representation is lacking like liquor stores, bars, restaurants and grocery stores,â Hoddeson said.
âPutting a product with the word âgayâ in the title is representation itself,â he said.
Hoddeson told CNN he came up with the idea for Gay Water last year while traveling on vacation with his friend who works in the beverage industry.
âI wanted to build something that is queer and part of the community, but isnât necessarily rainbows and unicorns that you see all around pride,â he said.
âGay is an umbrella term, and the idea behind the brand is to be as inclusive as possible, which means we want allies, we want straight people to be part of this community weâre building,â Hoddeson added.
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Gay Water is primarily sold online and comes in four flavors: watermelon, lime, peach and grapefruit.
A six-pack costs $18.25 and a 12-pack costs $36.50, according to the website.
Hoddeson noted that Gay Water is not the first alcoholic beverage brand to feature the word âgayâ in its name: Gay Beer and So Gay RosĂŠ are also trying to reach the LGBT community.
The Gay Water founder said there are a lot of âstraight-coded brands that try to acquire the audience, and thatâs what Bud Light did.â
âThereâs clearly a desire for folks to have queer customers,â he said. âThey just donât know the right way to go about it.â
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
