Who is Alissa Gordon Heinerscheid? Bud Light VP of Marketing sparks controversy with inclusivity interview

Bud Light continues to be the topic of debate online, with its Vice President of Marketing, Alissa Gordon Heinerscheid, now making headlines. She recently revealed on the Make Yourself At Home podcast that the brand’s focus is no longer to cater to “frat guys,” but to promote inclusivity. Since the interview went viral, netizens have expressed keen interest in who she is and have attacked her vision for the brand.

Bud Light became the topic everyone was obsessing over after they collaborated with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Regular consumers of the beer were unhappy to see the company attempting to go “woke” and partner with the popular internet personality. Critics noted that the organization seemed unaware of who its key demographic was.

In a recent Make Yourself At Home episode, Alissa Gordon seemingly addressed the backlash the brand had garnered. She announced that they do not wish to be a brand that represents “fratty and out of touch humor” and focus on “inclusivity” instead. Gordon said:

“I had this super clear mandate. It’s like we need to evolve and elevate this incredibly iconic brand. What does evolve and elevate mean? It means inclusivity… it means having a campaign hat’s truly inclusive and feels lighter and brighter and different. And appeals to women and to men. And representation, isn’t it the heart of evolution? We had this hangover. I mean, Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty out of touch humor and it was really important that we had another approach.”

However, it seems like many did not agree with Alissa Gordon’s vision. Many were quick to bully her online. A few comments read:

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Who is Bud Light’s Vice President of Marketing?

Alissa Gordon who proudly calls herself the “first female to lead the largest beer brand in the industry” is a Wharton School graduate, and holds a Master of Business Administration degree. She also holds a bachelor of arts degree from Harvard University, where she pursued English Language and Literature/Letters.

Prior to becoming Vice President at the Anheuser-Busch company, Gordon started her career in marketing at Tapestry Networks. She left the organization five years later to become the Associate Brand Manager of Listerine.

She went on to join Anheuser-Busch in May 2015 where she worked as a Director of Value Brands, the Director of Bud Light Sports & Music, the Senior Director of Bud Light Communications, the VP of Direct Consumer Marketing, and then the VP of draftLine & Digital.

For the past 10 months, she has been appointed as a VP in Bud Light, as per her official LinkedIn account.

Speaking about the advice she would give to those in the PR industry who are embracing innovation, she has said in an interview in the past:

“Routine, routine, routine. If you want to embrace innovation, show me your plans on a page of how you’re doing it.”

At the time of writing this article, trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney did not respond to the backlash Bud Light was receiving. However, he has stirred up another debate by becoming a brand ambassador for Nike.