WASHINGTON (TND) — Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas., sent a letter Tuesday asking questions about the influencer marketing company Captiv8 and its marketing to minors.
The company, Sen. Cruz said, played an important role in connecting Bud Light with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney with the intention to reach younger members of the LGBT community. This decision may have been made with the intention of selling product to minors, the lawmaker wrote in a letter to Captiv8.
The fact that Anheuser-Busch sought out Captiv8 to attract young drinkers is not surprising,” Sen. Cruz wrote. “Captiv8 has positioned itself as a leading agency for influencer marketing, which it calls ‘the best way to sell to Gen Z.’ Captiv8 highlights the fact that ‘73% of Gen Z-ers say they would make a purchase based on a social media recommendation.’”He continued, saying the partnership may have even willingly neglected laws regarding marketing to minors by failing to properly label and age restrict their sponsored post on Mulvaney’s page as advertising.
“Captiv8 signed off on Mulvaney’s April 1st post even though it was neither age gated nor marked with a ‘paid partnership’ label as required by Instagram (and, arguably, the FTC’s endorsement guidelines),” Sen. Cruz wrote. “The failure to age gate meant the advertisement was guaranteed to be seen by Mulvaney’s followers, many of whom are under the age of 21.”
The senator closed, demanding the company explain its decision and present data concerning its relationship to alcohol marketing and minors.
In June, Sen. Cruz released a memo with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., showing evidence that Anheuser Busch specifically targeted a partnership with Mulvaney in order to reach minors. The memo compared the strategy to the now-illegal “Joe Camel” advertisements used to entice children to smoke cigarettes.
Bud Light received widespread backlash in April for partnering with Mulvaney during NCAA March Madness. Critics accused Bud Light of being out of touch with its customers, leading many Americans to support a boycott of the popular beer brand. The Bud Light marketing executive who reportedly helped spearhead the partnership took a leave of absence from the company following the outrage.
After suffering a substantial drop in sales, Bud Light is now the “official beer partner of UFC” in a multi-year deal with the mixed martial arts league. The brand also recently announced a partnership with the Washington Commanders.
Captiv8 did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The National Desk Tuesday.
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