Another casualty of the so-called Dylan Mulvaney effect emerges.
After Anheuser-Busch made the curious decision to collaborate with self-identified transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney — a man portraying himself as a woman — in a 2023 advertising endeavor featuring him sipping Bud Light, Fox Business revealed that sales plummeted by nearly 30 percent year-over-year for the week ending in January 2024.
Fast forward to 2024: it seems that companies had ample warning to recognize that consumers were less enthusiastic about marketing campaigns that showcase men in women’s clothing. Yet here we are again.
KMD Brands, which operates under the Kathmandu Holdings umbrella, has reported a staggering loss of $82.9 million. This misstep comes in light of a boycott sparked in 2024 over their choice to promote the sport to women using another so-called transgender surfer.
The Daily Mail noted this as the most significant financial decline the company has faced in a decade.
The reported losses encompass a $40.3 million write-down related to their Oboz hiking boot line. KMD is also the proprietor of both Kathmandu and Rip Curl.
Rip Curl, an iconic surfing brand, has dropped Bethany Hamilton (a notable shark attack survivor) from their advertising campaigns. They have instead chosen to feature Sasha Lowerson in their women’s surfing promotions. The lack of respect is palpable. pic.twitter.com/Gmc2n5aL0s
— Jill Foster (@JournalistJill) January 26, 2024
Hailing from New Zealand, this company has felt the backlash, particularly after many Australians chose to boycott Rip Curl last year, following their controversial inclusion of the transgender athlete Sasha Lowerson in marketing campaigns.
Replacing a proven athlete like Lowerson with a man impersonating a woman not only distracts from the sport but raises eyebrows when considering the context of who was sidelined. Bethany Hamilton is a celebrated athlete, renowned for her resilience after losing her arm in a shark attack as a teenager. According to her official biography, she refused to be defined by that tragedy, continuing to excel in surfing while also embracing roles as a mother and a committed advocate for strong values in sports.
Hamilton has been a vocal critic of so-called transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, making Rip Curl’s decision to drop her for a less-established figure a questionable one both ethically and strategically.
This thoughtful consumer base is making its displeasure clear, and now Rip Curl faces the consequences of this choice, with 21 of their 328 stores set to close.
While the Daily Mail suggested that the boycott alone may not be directly responsible for KMD’s financial troubles, it’s hard to dismiss the correlation. The implications of the Dylan Mulvaney effect cannot be ignored.
Simply put, consumers are disenchanted with the idea of men masquerading as women in their marketing narratives.
People are naturally resistant to this scenario, which some perceive as bizarre and inappropriate—an obligation that extends to even the youngest members of society.
To simplify a popular adage in modern consumer parlance: get woke, go broke.
This analysis originally appeared on The Western Journal.
