AdWeek:
Sean Bonner says, “There’s no way for a brand to “insert themselves into a conversation” about a tragedy like this without it being bad.
“Today (or whatever other tragedy this kind of thing has happened with) isn’t the time for marketing. It isn’t the time for branding or getting people to pay attention to companies. It’s a time for people to interact with each other, and the only respectful thing for brands to do is stay out of it and wait for tomorrow to get back to business.”
I see these kinds of marketing “tributes” all the time in these situations and Bonner and Monteiro are right – if you are a brand, just STFU.
If only they would.
Eh, many of the examples were tasteful. Mostly harmless. Mostly unobjectionable.
The ones that paired the statement with a promo, were very bad.
Lumping in the former with the latter in the complaint dilutes the outrage earned by the latter.
When a Brand “speaks” it’s ALWAYS with a promotion (regardless of whether it’s offering a special price), so the outrage should be the same. A brand trying to link itself to tragedy is never tasteful, or more accurately always tasteless.
Well I don’t subscribe to the idea businesses are devoid of humanity.
Even so, I don’t want to crap on anyone trying to expressing sentiment. Even if it is just for effect, no harm is done.
It’s like being offended when being told to “have a nice day” at a checkout or some form of customer service.