It’s fair to say that 2016 has been a year marked by the growth of nationalist sentiment and the awareness that a mental divide between “us versus them” is well and alive in many countries. In particular, two developed western countries that had been open and progressive for many years have now become the poster child of this trend — the United Kingdom by breaking its ties with the European Union by voting in favor of Brexit, and the United States by electing Donald Trump after his campaign promises to deport millions of illegal immigrants, demand Muslims to register into national security database, and removing rights of women, LGBT community, among other minority groups.
Brands are utilizing their star power to engage in the conversation and take a position on the values they stand for. Recently, Google and Amazon have launched ads that promote inclusiveness, acceptance, and tolerance. Google’s latest ads are documentary-style short videos that portray stories of transgender people. The campaign is called #transgender voices and it aims to build awareness and foster understanding of this minority group (Coffee, 2016).
On Amazon’s case, the brand launched an ad to promote interfaith and intercultural tolerance on their Holiday Campaign this year. The ad shows a Catholic priest and a Muslim imam sharing a laugh and friendship (Beltrone, 2016).
These two examples show that brands are not afraid to take a position and promote their values. Even though they may alienate parts of the market who do not agree with their messages, they are still taking their chances.
References
Beltrone, G. (2016, November 17). Google Is Telling More Transgender Stories at a Critical Time for LGBT Rights. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/google-telling-more-transgender-stories-critical-time-lgbt-rights-174682
Coffee, P. (2016, November 18). Amazon’s Touching Interfaith Ad Appeals to the Better Angels of a Divided World. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/amazons-touching-interfaith-ad-appeals-better-angels-divided-world-174721
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