(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) What started as a joke may soon become a multimillion-dollar reality as Anheuser–Busch marketing executives were reported last week to be in serious consideration for a deal with actress and American Eagle model Sydney Sweeney.
The Daily Mail reported that the blonde bombshell could net $10 million dollars in a Bud Light deal currently under consideration.
“Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle campaign delivered undeniable commercial impact— denim sales surged and the brand’s stock climbed,” said entertainment lawyer Christopher Chatham, an expert in negotiating celebrity endorsements.
“That kind of performance makes her a compelling candidate for Bud Light, especially as the brand considers options in responding to past criticism,” Chatham added. “Beer brands pay for reach, resilience, and relevance—and Sweeney delivers all three, so it would not be surprising if a Bud Light endorsement deal were to approach or potentially reach the seven-figure range.”
The two have been flip sides of a cautionary tale on the power conservatives have in the marketplace amid pressures from the ESG movement to use branding as political virtue-signaling.
Bud Light, once a staple for the St. Louis-based beer manufacturer, lost nearly a quarter of its sales—roughly $1.4 billion in annual revenue—after outrage conservatives boycotted the brand for its promotion of transgender personality Dylan Mulvaney in 2023.
According to some estimates, its overall market value plunged more than $15 billion due to the woke misstep.
It has since tried and failed to rehab its tarnished image, including a partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but negative perceptions have taken root, making it the butt of many jokes on conservative-friendly outlets and programs.
That included Fox News comedian Jimmy Failla, who floated the idea of a Bud Light–Sweeney collab in an Aug. 5 op-ed, noting that Sweeney’s “good jeans” campaign had sent American Eagle’s stock soaring by 23%.
“Teaming up with Sweeney would mark a return to the Golden Age of beer sales, where catering to the customer’s preferences was far more important than trying to align them with the woke White chicks screaming into their iPHONES on TIK TOK,” Failla wrote.
It is unclear whether the youth-oriented clothing manufacturer intentionally set off a firestorm when it began the campaign, which leftists have denounced as Nazi-esque for suggesting that Sweeney’s Aryan features should be given a positive value judgment.
The attacks ultimately resulted in a sort of Streisand-effect backlash turning Sweeney—who, it turns out, is a registered Republican and expert marksman—into the posterchild for anti-woke resistance.
Sydney Sweeney showed off her skills at the gun range.
As if we don't have enough reasons to love her. pic.twitter.com/nPx3vZ4hof
— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) August 4, 2025
Even President Donald Trump weighed in, further lifting the public profile of the 27-year-old “Euphoria” actress with a lengthy post on Truth Social.
Trump actually posted a Sydney Sweeney post for real! LMAO 😂 👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/vCfSNVDwy9
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) August 4, 2025
Many have noted that American Eagle itself has also used non-white pitch-models, such as left-wing singer Beyoncé Knowles.
But when faced with cancel-culture pressure, it doubled down on the decision, thereby plunging headfirst into the culture war on the winning side.
That may give beer execs optimism that Sweeney could be the Great White Hope destined to rescue their brand—once celebrated for its clever commercials—and wipe away any lingering negativity among consumers.
“[I]f Bud Light teams up with Sydney Sweeney, all the ill will from the Dylan Mulvaney fiasco will disappear faster than a CEO on a Coldplay Kiss Cam,” Failla wrote.
“I say that because as a gorgeous and fun loving girl who is not ashamed of her femininity, she’s everything that made Bud Light Commercials successful before the Mad Men in the advertising department were replaced with Mad THEM,” he added.
Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
