Disney, Target & Bud Light – Oh My! - Top 3 Takeaways – June 23rd, 2023
- Disney, Target and Bud Light – Oh my! Unless you’re listening from Iowa or South Carolina you probably aren’t familiar with Governor DeSantis’ most recent PAC ad. But there’s no doubt that even the most lightly informed Floridians are generally informed about Governor DeSantis’ war on woke corporations in Florida. And for those who think the governor has perhaps rethought taking on a few of America’s biggest brands following the attempted backlash by them against him – think again. The most recent ad running on behalf of DeSantis in Iowa and South Carolina from the aptly named Never Back Down PAC makes it clear where the governor still stands. The ad goes likes this... Once upon a Time...Disney films were for kids, not secret sexual content. Target and Bud Light didn’t sell extreme liberal agendas and schools taught the ABC’s not CRT. This isn’t a fairytale. It’s a NIGHTMARE. But one man stood up...Ron DeSantis “We stand for the protection of our children. We will fight those who seek to rob them of their innocence. We will never ever surrender to the woke mob.” And who’s winning? Well, it isn’t the woke mop. You’ve likely heard about the big recent losses at Bud Light and Target, but the losses don’t stop there and it’s a good time to put some real-time numbers to what’s happened starting with Disney. Disney’s battle with Florida started March 9th of 2022 when former CEO Bob Chapek said on a shareholder call he was formerly opposing Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law and was backing the opposition campaign effort with $5 million in Disney’s shareholder funds. On the day that Disney took that stance they were trading at $132 per share. Where are they today? At $88. Disney has lost exactly a third of its value, or over $80 billion, since they publicly pursued the path of going woke and challenging the state of Florida to do it.
- It’s hard to overstate the significance of the stunning collapse of Disney’s value – especially in comparison to a stock market that’s held steady over that time. The losses have left Disney’s stock at nearly its lowest levels in a decade as the company hasn’t been worth as little as it is today since early in 2014. No, you won’t hear that Disney’s collapse has been a result of its freakish and sick battle to promote the teaching of sexuality to children between the ages of 5 and 8 in Florida’s schools. However, yes, huge losses in many core audiences coincided with that battle. And frankly how could any parent who really is minding the store feel confident leaving their kids to watch Disney for hours on end knowing what their agenda really is? Which by the way we were also reminded of in February when an episode of Disney’s “The Proud Family” had an episode featuring the song “Slaves Built this Country”, which denounced the founding of this country, told children that this country was systemically racist, and that reparations are in order because it hasn’t been atoned for. Good times. Especially for the young children targeted by Disney’s BLM propaganda. Next up, let’s look at Target. May 4th was the date Target unveiled their “Pride line” of clothing replete with tuckable bikinis – you know for the guy who pretends he’s a girl and wants to wear a bikini. Anyway, the price of Target’s stock that day was $159 per share. Today, Target trades at $132. That’s a loss of 17% of the company’s value in under two months and Target has underperformed the S&P 500 by 24% during that time. April 1st was the day Dylan Mulvaney outed Bud Light for their Tranny Tribute to him. The value of Anheuser Busch stock - $67. The value today (of a company which has a massive beer portfolio well beyond Bud Light) is $57. That’s a loss of 15% of the company’s value and the company has also underperformed the S&P 500 by 15% during this time. No, none of these companies are broke (yet), but they all have suffered huge losses and destroyed tremendous shareholder value which continues to mount. But none of the losses are bigger than those that have been felt at Disney. The company which most directly took its battle for a woke sexual agenda directly to DeSantis. DeSantis never has backed down, but the value of Disney most certainly has. Disney’s blown through a marketing director, content directors and a CEO and nearly $100 billion in market value since they took up that torch. So yeah, Disney, Target and Bud Light oh my! Once not all that long ago, they were iconic American brands. Now they’re poster children for what it costs to be woke. Kudos to those who’ve voted with their wallets in standing up for their values. And kudos to Governor DeSantis for never backing down. He may or may not win the Republican primary for president but he’s winning an extremely important battle for basic morality, decency, and parental rights. And most important of all...
- You Have the power. That’s the most important message of all. Just yesterday CNBC’s lead story for much of the day was entitled: Boycotts rarely work – but anti-LGBTQ+ backlash is forcing companies into touch choices. While the article was predictably critical of those who oppose the trans agenda, of having men compete in women’s sports and not being supportive of clothing for those who haven’t yet had “gender affirming surgery”, the message is being received by corporate America generally. But there’s a trench war for sure. Just yesterday GLAAD, which bills itself as the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer media advocacy organization advanced a new campaign of 50 companies of largely household names who’ve signed a pledge to stand with them in their agenda. The GLAAD CEO also made clear in so many words that they’ve launched their own pressure campaign in corporate America to continue to advance their social agenda. So, the continued incremental effort to push the sexualized agendas in front of us and our children will continue. The question is what we decide to do with it. I’ve always said I don’t personally support boycotts and I never will. I believe in choice. I believe in free markets. But I do personally vote with my wallet, always have, and it's encouraging to see so many people, in what was once referred to as the silent majority, stand up for what they believe in. You have the power. You always have, the question is if you chose to use it in support of your values and what you stand for. I can promise you that I will.