But here is the part that gets less attention: Bud Light's response to the backlash was to go silent. They didn't stand behind the partnership. They didn't explain their thinking. They didn't defend Dylan Mulvaney.

Brand are spending significant budget on live events and separately on digital content, and the two efforts rarely speak to each other. The event team produces an experience. The content team produces assets. And somewhere between the two, the actual story, the thing that was supposed to matter gets lost.