How a trans actor’s Bud Light campaign plunged an Indian-origin CEO’s marketing firm into crisis

Dylan Mulvaney's (left) Bud Light campaign with Krishna Subramanian's Captiv8 did not go well. (Image: dylanmulvaney/Instagram and ksub15/LinkedIn)

An Indian-origin CEO has found himself in the midst of a major crisis as his US-based marketing firm, Captiv8, faces backlash over its partnership with Bud Light beer, resulting in a viral TikTok video that has become an example of marketing misfire.

The eight-year-old marketing firm, based in San Mateo, California, specialises in pairing social-media influencers with consumer brands. However, its recent collaboration with a transgender actress, Dylan Mulvaney, has sent the firm into "serious panic mode," according to reports.

The video, posted on April 1, featured Mulvaney holding a Bud Light can while taking a bubble bath. The video sparked nationwide backlash, causing anxiety and confusion among Captiv8 employees. "There was a lot of chatter" among the staff about the potential blowback from the botched campaign, revealed a source familiar with the situation. The source further added, "Internally, the company was in serious panic mode."

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Captiv8, which boasts a database of over 1 million influencers on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, has previously worked with major brands like Walmart, American Express, Twitter, and KraftHeinz. Co-founded in 2015 by Krishna Subramanian, a Silicon Valley investor who sold online ad network BlueLithium to Yahoo for $300 million, Captiv8 has positioned itself as an expert in influencer marketing.

In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Subramanian emphasized the importance of viral videos in conjunction with major advertising events such as the Super Bowl. "The best way to think about TikTok is that it's a vehicle that takes a consumer to the checkout line," he stated.

Contrary to the swanky office depicted in their promotional video, the company's actual office in San Mateo is a small space that can accommodate only a dozen employees, with the majority of their 100-plus workforce operating remotely.

Despite the initial panic, Captiv8 seems to have returned to "business as usual," according to inside sources. Meanwhile, Anheuser-Busch InBev, the parent company of Bud Light, has remained tight-lipped about the origins of the ill-fated Mulvaney campaign. The company placed two executives, Alissa Heinerscheid and Daniel Blake, on leave following the controversy.

Anheuser-Busch InBev informed its distributors that Mulvaney's beer can was not produced by the company or in any of its facilities. They also revealed that the "third-party" ad agency responsible for the Mulvaney video had been terminated.

Read: 'Boycott Starbucks' calls over viral ad on transgender acceptance. Watch

An unnamed distributor explained to New York Post, "Ad agencies send out hundreds of influencer kits a year, some of which have a customized can included. This was one of those situations.”

Subramanian has not made any public statements regarding the crisis. However, the Captiv8 website continues to showcase its influencer marketplace, featuring over 30 million creators.