Bud Light might seem emblematic of the cultural divide between red and blue America. But it turns out Swiffer is polarizing too.

The Procter & Gamble Co. brand had a polarized fan base long before Bud Light faced backlash this spring over its affiliation with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, with a 24-point favorability gap for Republicans (net positive sentiment 78%) vs. Democrats (54%) over two years from July 2021 to June 2023, according to data from Engagement Labs, which conducts regular surveys regarding how Americans talk about brands face-to-face, not on social media.

That’s more polarizing than the supposedly red-leaning Paramount+ TV series “Yellowstone” (19-point favorability edge among Republicans). DiGorno frozen pizza and State Farm (both Democrat-leaning) and Costco's Kirkland private label (heavily Republican) are among other surprisingly polarized brands. 

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Bud Light, for its part, was pretty equally loved by Republicans and Democrats before its affiliation with Mulvaney captured headlines in April, according to Engagement Labs. In April, net sentiment was close to 60% positive on the Anheuser-Busch InBev brand between Democrats and Republicans alike in Engagement Labs surveys. By June, rolling 26-week net sentiment for Bud Light dropped under 20% for Republicans while staying at 60% for Democrats.

Among lessons from a two-year look back on brand polarization from Engagement Labs surveys is that while news can drive division, many brands have big, and sometimes inexplicable, divides in preference among Republicans and Democrats without getting caught up in the culture wars. So it makes sense for brand marketers to understand the political bent of their consumers before they decide to take public stands on polarizing issues, according to Brad Fay, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Engagement Labs.

How the data was collected

Engagement Labs bases the data on surveys it conducts with consumers about offline conversations (face-to-face, by phone or digitally) they’ve had about brands the prior day. The firm’s Brand Marketing Amid Political Polarization report is based on more than 73,000 such interviews among adults ages 18-69 from July 2021 to June 2023.

While many companies track social media sentiment about brands, Engagement Labs has the only database tracking offline brand conversations. Differences between sentiment measured in social media and offline conversations are often big and directionally different, Fay said.

“What you see in social media is not necessarily what’s happening over the kitchen table,” Fay said. “We measure both social-media conversations and real-world conversations that people are having, and we find they often go in different directions. That’s particularly true with dramatic media stories. Social media tends to be much more volatile. It reacts much more strongly.”

Relying just on social media can lead brand marketers to believe some problems are bigger than they are and miss other problems, Fay said.

Disney, thanks to a battle with Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, has seen sentiment that had been close between Democrats and Republicans start to diverge since October, in Engagement Labs polling. Still, the polarization is less than what might be suggested on social media, with an 18-point gap tilting toward Democrats as of June. And Fay noted that Disney’s customer base tends to tilt blue anyway, so losing ground with Republicans didn't do as much brand damage as it could have.

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Polarization puzzlers

Even in a polarized political era, some brands still split right down the middle. Among the least polarized brands Engagement Labs found are a handful of American icons such as Barbie, Chevrolet and Coca-Cola, and, perhaps surprisingly, Budweiser. All of them were equally favored by Democrats and Republicans in surveys covering the two-year period ending in June. They’re joined by Gucci, Hotels.com, Lipton and Mtn Dew (though Diet Mtn Dew has a 19-point Republican tilt).

Some of the red-blue divides are easy to explain. Fox News has a 52-point net favorability edge with Republicans. CNN has a 72-point favorability edge with Democrats.  

Pfizer, associated with controversy over COVID-19 vaccines, has a 72-point edge with Democrats and is one of the few brands with a net negative score among either group (-29% with Republicans). Moderna is even more polarizing, with a 87-point gap in favor of Democrats. 

Yet some brands that have been at times mired deep in the culture wars aren’t that polarizing.

Chick-fil-A, once embroiled in controversy over donations and statements by the chain’s late founder S. Truett Cathy opposing gay marriage, has a relatively modest 7-point gap, with Republicans slightly more positive than Democrats. But both sides are more than 70% net positive.  

Nike, despite advertising featuring the polarizing former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2018, is almost equally favored by 70% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans. 

“Nike is fairly even between Democrats and Republicans because they said, ‘Okay, we know where we're going.’ They had a clear path forward. They had a clear reason, and they let the new cycle play out and didn't try to expand it,” said Benjamin Schneider, VP of data development at Engagement Labs.

But Hobby Lobby, consistently in the news over the years for taking numerous conservative stands, has a relatively high 23-point gap, leaning Republican. 

Some gaps harder to explain

Among the more puzzling gaps are for brands that aren’t seemingly caught up in the culture wars at all. Costco's Kirkland private label brand has a 24-point edge favoring Republicans, even though Costco over-indexes in Democrat-leaning coastal areas and the retailer brand has only a 4-point edge among the GOP faithful. Walmart, even though its store footprint over-indexes a bit in more Republican areas, has a 5-point favorability edge among Democrats. Target is almost equally net favorable with both parties.

Ajax has a 36-point gap in favor of Republicans, but its Colgate-Palmolive Co. cleaner sibling Fabuloso, which originated in Mexico, is almost even with a 1-point edge favoring Democrats. 

While P&G’s Swiffer tilts heavily Republican, its Mr. Clean brand has only a 1-point gap between the party faithful, and both sides round up to 71% net favorable. 

The polarization gaps aren’t always about any involvement in the culture wars and sometimes have more to do with where brands focus their marketing, Fay said. Fay isn't sure exactly why Swiffer or State Farm are so polarizing, but he said differences can often come from brand media plans and who they reach.

DiGiorno frozen pizza has a 27-point Democratic tilt likely because it appeals to younger consumers, particularly since the pandemic, Fay said. 

The data might make it look like political polarization is a brand minefield, where it’s not always clear where the mines are buried. Bud Light, for example, had been engaged in Pride Month and support of LGBTQ+ causes for many years with no backlash or meaningful polarization, Fay noted.

That might make it seem like steering clear of politics is the only safe route, but that may not make sense either, he said.

“Politics has become such a dominant part of the culture in recent years that it’s a double-edged sword strategically,” Fay said. “On one hand, there’s a lot of energy and juice you can take advantage of by being engaged in politics. On the other hand, the backlash potential is real, and that’s the reason you really want to look before you leap.”