Here at Quantus Creative, we know that bold marketing campaigns are often rewarded for their creativity and innovation, and we encourage ourselves as well as our clients to think outside of the box. However, sometimes making risky decisions can be detrimental to the brand’s success (not to mention very stressful for their PR team). Let’s take a look at a few examples of marketing campaigns that didn’t quite hit their mark and discuss what we can take away from these faux pas.
Pepsi and Kendall Jenner
You probably remember this one. This campaign involved a commercial with Kendall Jenner that sparked a LOT of controversy back in 2017. In the commercial, Jenner is seen at a photoshoot before noticing a nearby protest. She joins the protest, grabs a can of Pepsi, and hands it to a police officer before joining the crowd once more. Audiences ended up finding the commercial insensitive and ignorant, causing Pepsi to immediately pull the ad and issue an apology on all of their social media accounts.
What We Learned
Cultural movements are not to be taken lightly. Pepsi’s creative team should have done significantly more research into how this ad would be received by audiences. Before launching a campaign, be sure to get plenty of input from others by conducting surveys and focus groups to ensure that your content will not be viewed by anyone as offensive or inappropriate.
Levi’s AI Models
We’ve mentioned in previous articles that AI is becoming increasingly popular among brands looking to expand their marketing strategy. We’ve also mentioned that because AI is so new, there are few restrictions or guidelines regarding how it should be used. In 2023, Levi’s launched a campaign in which they generated AI models to represent people of different shapes, sizes, and skin tones in hopes of creating a more inclusive online shopping experience for their customers. Unfortunately, users had a hard time understanding why they wouldn’t just hire real diverse models. This attempt to implement AI was seen as lazy and as depriving diverse men and women of opportunities. Levi’s issued several statements regarding the announcement and was on some serious damage control.
What We Learned
While the “next big thing” may seem exciting and new, don’t get carried away until you can be sure you are making responsible decisions. Diversity is an extremely important component of today’s marketing, and, as mentioned in our previous example, more research could have revealed the audience’s opinions before a final decision was made. Always prioritize cultural and social responsibility.
Twitter Rebranding
When Elon Musk announced in 2023 that Twitter would be rebranded as X, there was immediate backlash. First, Musk erected a massive sign that warranted complaints from the surrounding neighborhood and was swiftly removed. X also saw an increase in hate speech as certain banned accounts were brought back. While the negativity surrounding this rebrand spiked, interaction dipped. X has experienced a major decrease in their number of daily app users, and many brands have decided to quit advertising on the platform
What We Learned
Rebranding is not something to be taken lightly, especially when it comes to massive companies. Rebranding requires a significant amount of research, effort, and time. If you are thinking of making any major changes to your company, be sure to consult others and do what is best overall for the brand.
