It’s appropriate for brands to make social statements, but it should be done very carefully. A brand can’t just hop onto a social issue; it must be very purposeful and sincere because, truthfully, it might work or it might fail.
Pepsi’s most recent move failed.
The backlash to Pepsi’s new advertisement, in which Kendall Jenner turns a protest into a party by giving a police officer a Pepsi, was almost immediate. Thousands of people complained about the ad on social media, and Pepsi pulled the video from YouTube within one day.
The brand underestimated the issue they were trying to tackle. While the ad was beautifully shot and wonderfully orchestrated with a celebrity model and some cool music, it appeared to make light of some very serious issues and implied those issues can all be solved by cracking open a can of soda.
It was too beautiful and too orchestrated.
People reacted.
Again: it’s good for brands to take a stand on social issues. Showing you align with your customers’ values is an effective way to be an engaging and valuable part of the community. But you have to tread purposefully.
Make sure you ask yourself these key questions before…