Un-following the “In-Crowd”: When Agency’s Go Against Social Norms

https://youtube.com/watch?v=sKZCcVKVHws

On Monday, June 1st, Caitlyn Jenner made her very public debut to the world on the cover of Vanity Fair Magazine. In addition to the magazine cover, Ms. Jenner also joined Instagram and Twitter where she quickly surpassed a record number of one million followers in only four hours. Following the outpour of media frenzy, ESPN announced that Jenner would be the Arthur Ashe Courage Award Honoree at this year’s ESPY Awards; The Miss USA organization offered Jenner a spot on the judges panel at their next pageant; and the show creator of Amazon’s show ‘Transparent’ offered her a spot on their show. But, what about endorsements, commercials, and advertisements? After all, Bruce Jenner was once the face of Wheaties in 1977 when he became “The World’s Greatest Athlete.”

This week, Ad Age published an article on their website titled “Why Brands Aren’t Heeding Calls to Hire Caitlyn Jenner (Yet)”. As the article explains, “If a brand wants to join this conversation, or tap Ms. Jenner for an ad campaign, it had better have a solid track record of supporting acceptance and social causes” (Sebastian, 2015). This basically means that organizations cannot just jump on the bandwagon of supporting the LGBT community, or Jenner, if they’ve never done so in the past.

In marketing, brands are more inclined to stay neutral with matters that may not be accepted by large audiences. A lot of times this means discriminating against one audience in order to fit the agenda for the majority. In a recent poll conducted by a Human Rights Campaign, only 22% of respondents said they personally know of a transgender person. Though, as the article reports, younger generations like Generation Z, don’t see what all of the fuss is about. In the case of Caitlyn Jenner becoming a future spokesperson for a brand, not only are there a lot of marketing risks involved, but there is a significant divide amongst consumers and their beliefs on the subject.

This article has inspired me to think about the history of marketing. As culture has evolved, so has entertainment, and people’s views about politics or socially acceptable behavior. CEO and founder of Sparks and Honey, Terry Young said it best in the Ad Age article,”[Marketers] have to ask [themselves], if this rapid shift is happening, and you have a generation that is completely accepting, how out of sync with the world are you going to be if you’re not connecting with them?”

It’s worth noting, that although Jenner hasn’t been approached for a marketing campaign yet, that the transgender community has been represented by beauty brands like Clean&Clear and MAC Cosmetics. And, perhaps right now isn’t the best time for a brand to approach Jenner at the cost of “riding a wave of publicity” (Sebastian, 2015). Daniel Hennessy, CCO of Geometry Global Agency in the U.K. offers another opinion, “The cleverest thing an advertiser can do is the opposite of what everyone else is doing” (Bishop, n.d).

For comparison, here are a few commercials that have gotten a lot of attention for being “risky” and “[doing]…the opposite of what everyone else is doing.”

…because an “anti-ad” campaign is just  risky. Dove’s ‘Onslaught’ spot acknowledged the pressures of beauty that are put upon young girls through marketing.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Z01qH-jqGBY

The following ad was controversial for its depiction of an interracial family. Racists Very Upset Over Interracial Family in Cute Cheerios Commercial

https://youtube.com/watch?v=vUGDQo2Pb6g

Coca-Cola created controversy with this Super Bowl ad that depicts people of all cultures singing ‘America the Beautiful.’ Those who opposed of this commercial were angered that the song wasn’t sung in English. Coca-Cola’s “It’s Beautiful” Super Bowl Ad Brings Out Some Ugly Americans

As an end to this post, I am opening up a discussion.

Is it “risky” for companies to market to audiences or promote ideas that aren’t yet culturally accepted by everyone?

In marketing, are there certain times where brands should “follow the wave of publicity”?

References:

Bishop, K. (n.d.) The most controversial—and effective—ads ever? CNBC. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/101963345/page/1

Mandell, A. (2015, June 6). Will Caitlyn Jenner judge Miss USA pageant? USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2015/06/05/caitlyn-jenner-offered-judge-position-for-miss-usa/28571443/

Sebastian, M. (2015, June 4). Why brands aren’t heeding calls to hire Caitlyn Jenner (Yet). Ad Age. Retrieved from http://adage.com/article/media/worse-brands-remain-silent-caitlyn-jenner/298890/

Toomey, A. (2015, June 4). Caitlyn Jenner Arthur Ashe Courage Award: Double amputee Noah Galloway is not ”runner up”. E! Online. Retrieved from http://www.eonline.com/news/663197/caitlyn-jenner-arthur-ashe-courage-award-double-amputee-noah-galloway-is-not-runner-up

Vulpo, M. (2015, June 3). Is Caitlyn Jenner coming to Transparent? Show’s creator “Definitely” wants to incorporate her into show. E! Online. Retrieved from http://www.eonline.com/news/663051/is-caitlyn-jenner-coming-to-transparent-show-s-creator-definitely-wants-to-incorporate-her-into-show