Every other Wednesday, fellow account executive Katie Byrne and I host a Facebook Live show called Buchanan Buzz, where we discuss the latest public relations brand fails. On this week’s show, we broke down a few of th
e poorly timed messages that have coincided with the coronavirus pandemic.
In case you missed the show, read on for four of the worst brand messages we’ve seen thus far.
ASOS’ Chainmail Face Masks
Back in August, fashion retailer ASOS launched gold and silver chainmail face masks (apparently to be worn during “festival season or flu season,” according to a company tweet). After the coronavirus outbreak began, ASOS didn’t immediately pull its ads for the mask. In fact, Twitter users have reported seeing the ads as recently as a week ago.
The bottom line: Face masks are a touchy subject right now; it’s nearly impossible to acquire one and there’s a lot of information floating around about their effectiveness. The timing of the release of this product was unfortunate, but ASOS continuing to tote the product as a trend piece, even after the outbreak began, is just plain poor taste.
Vanessa Hudgens’ Instagram Live Rant
Celebrities have the power to influence people’s behaviors – especially the younger and more impressionable groups. The coronavirus presents an opportune time for celebrities to exercise this influence and encourage others to stay inside, as Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga have done. But that’s not what actress Vanessa Hudgens did. When Hudgens went on Instagram Live earlier this week, she had an unusual message for her fans regarding the pandemic: “Even if everybody gets it, like yeah, people are going to die, which is terrible… but inevitable?”
The bottom line: With so many people listening, Hudgens should have used her stage to remind people to act responsibly and practice social distancing. Instead, she was nonchalant and callus. Even though she apologized the next day, it was too late, and the damage had already been done.
Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Poorly Timed Ads
Norwegian Cruise Lines came under fire recently when it aired commercials for its cruises in the middle of coverage on the Grand Princess’ isolated passengers. According to The New York Times, Norwegian has spent nearly $10 million on digital ads this year. Surely some of those ads are going to be placed alongside some negative coverage on cruises.
The bottom line: Brands must regularly review the content of their ads, and where they’re being aired, to ensure nobody will be upset or offended. Lysol is another brand taking heat for continuing to run social media ads when its products are incredibly difficult to find. In Lysol’s case, it should pull the ads until its products are widely accessible again.
KFC’s “Finger Lickin’ Good” Campaign
With a slogan like “finger lickin’ good,” you can probably tell where this is headed. In late February, fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken aired an ad in the U.K. that showed people licking their fingers. Viewers immediately complained and KFC pulled the ad, claiming it would pause the campaign and return to it at a later date.
The bottom line: KFC obviously can’t detach itself from its 60-year-old slogan, but perhaps it could have turned that slogan into a PSA. It could say something like, “We know our food is finger lickin’ good, but right now there should definitely be no finger-licking.”
Now, more than ever, people need to lean on one another for love and support. Brands and individuals alike should be extremely sensitive to the challenges we all currently face. Katie and I examined some pretty negative and poorly timed messages, but it’s important to note that there are far more brands putting positive messages out into the world. Stay tuned, because I’ll be digging into some of those good brand responses on next week’s blog.
Which brands do you think completely missed the mark?