Marketing experts say brands that advertised with a nod to the recent firing of CTV National News anchor Lisa Laflamme should beware of backlash.
Companies that integrate news moments into their branding run the risk of being perceived as opportunistic and should prepare for additional scrutiny from customers and employees when they take a stand on hot-button issues, said retail analyst Bruce Winder.
“Nobody’s perfect, right? Every brand has skeletons in the closet … and that opens them up a lot to scrutiny … so you better make sure your house is in order before you start throwing this out there,” he said.
Read more: Wendy’s Canada backs Lisa LaFlamme, swaps mascot’s red hair for gray
“There could be a backlash if there’s something hidden in the cupboards because it’s connected to everything the two companies have done, so it’s a really high-risk move.”
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Winder’s remarks come after fast-food chain Wendy’s changed the profile picture on its Canadian Twitter account on Thursday to its mascot with gray hair instead of her usual red locks.
The tweet read “because a star is a star regardless of hair color,” using two star emoticons and included LaFlamme’s name in the hashtag.
Because ⭐️ is ⭐️ regardless of hair color. #LisaLaFlamme #NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/g7i7kqwYrw
— Wendy’s 🇨🇦 (@WendysCanada) August 25, 2022
Media reports have linked LaFlamme’s ouster from Bell Media to her decision to stop dyeing her hair during the pandemic.
Earlier this week, Dove Canada hinted at LaFlamme’s firing after 35 years at the network in a campaign called Keep the Grey, which proclaimed “aging is beautiful” and said “women should be able to do it on their own terms, without any consequences. “
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2:15 CTV anchor Lisa Laflamme ‘blindsided’ by Bell Media’s decision to terminate her contract CTV anchor Lisa Laflamme ‘blindsided’ by Bell Media’s decision to terminate her contract – August 15, 2022
Dove never mentioned LaFlamme in its campaign, which donated $100,000 to women’s advocacy organization Catalyst and encouraged others to turn their profile pictures grayscale.
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Neither the company immediately responded to a request for comment, nor did Bell Media.
However, Winder thinks Wendy’s campaign is “probably a little shallow.” Dove, he said, is “deeper and more serious.”
Read more: Lisa LaFlamme chose not to say goodbye to viewers before eviction, CTV memo claims
“But still, both brands seem a bit opportunistic, like they’re taking advantage of what’s hot this week and what’s hot this week, and they seem to be trying too hard,” he said.
Joan McNeish, meanwhile, thinks the Wendy’s campaign doesn’t make much sense because the brand has never been associated with ageism or gray hair.
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“With Wendy’s, it’s just going to sink like a stone,” said the associate professor of marketing at Toronto Metropolitan University.
“It doesn’t cost them much to do it, but they could have been a lot smarter about how they did it.”
However, she noted that Dove has long been associated with these topics and has been campaigning for gray hair for 15 years.
Age is beautiful. Women should be able to do it on their own terms, without any consequences 👩🏼🦳👩🏾🦳Dove is donating $100,000 to Catalyst, a Canadian organization that helps build inclusive workplaces for all women. Go gray with us, turn your profile picture grayscale and #KeepTheGrey pic.twitter.com/SW5X93r4Qj
— Dove Canada (@DoveCanada) August 21, 2022
“These campaigns work best when there’s a connection and a foundation for the work you’re doing and the cause you’re supporting,” she said.
But associating a brand with every buzzy news story carries both risks and rewards, she warned.
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Companies can easily draw attention to their brands, which can lead to sales when a campaign really resonates with customers, but such ads also open businesses up to a new level of exploration.
“There’s actually a real art form in understanding how to respond to these situations because sometimes they’re really wonderful bonus situations where you get a big boost in awareness and maybe some sales, or they can be devastating if you find out about -late or there’s another part of the problem that wasn’t so clear to you,” McNeish said.
Read more: Lisa Laflamme removed as CTV national news anchor: ‘I was blindsided’
Companies need look no further than Pepsi to see the risks, Winder added.
The soft drink giant ran a 2017 ad featuring model and Keeping Up with the Kardashians star Kendall Jenner, who joined a protest and defused tensions by handing a police officer a Pepsi.
Many saw the ad as trivializing the Black Lives Matter movement.
“So the risk is very high,” Winder said. “It might resonate (and be) very popular with certain people, and some people might see it as opportunistic and a bit sleazy.”
Companies taking the risk need to be quick and commit to the moment before it leaves the zeitgeist or other brands beat them to it, McNeish said.
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“There’s only room for a few to really get the big prize for being connected … so you have to be ready to react to those situations.”
© 2022 The Canadian Press
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