{"id":21321,"date":"2017-05-18T15:32:38","date_gmt":"2017-05-18T14:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fifteen-staging.fifteen.dev\/blog\/when-brands-try-to-tug-on-heart-strings-but-fail\/"},"modified":"2017-05-18T15:32:38","modified_gmt":"2017-05-18T14:32:38","slug":"when-brands-try-to-tug-on-heart-strings-but-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fifteendesign.co.uk\/blog\/when-brands-try-to-tug-on-heart-strings-but-fail\/","title":{"rendered":"When brands try to tug on heart strings…but fail."},"content":{"rendered":"

The modern world is a sensitive place. Particularly online. Being so connected, we quickly can share our opinions, negative or positive. Before you know it, what might have seemed like a standard campaign has become a viral case, but not always for the right reason.<\/p>\n

Brands have little control of the reaction to a campaign once it\u2019s gone live. It\u2019s not as simple as taking down a poster in your shop window if it doesn\u2019t go so well. It can spread like wildfire through the internet and on social media. You can\u2019t do anything to rid of it completely.<\/p>\n

Creative agencies have a duty to anticipate cultural sensitivities when in the process of creating campaigns. This can be done through thorough cultural research, consumer research and testing.<\/p>\n

This is most difficult for mass market brands as their consumers come from all different types of interest groups that will have all sorts of opinions. Therefore, there\u2019s a much higher chance that some groups will be offended.<\/p>\n

If your brand has a more niche consumer group, it can be much easier to work out what they will or won\u2019t respond well to.<\/p>\n

Here are some mass market brands that haven\u2019t done this so well recently;<\/p>\n

McDonalds<\/strong><\/h2>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5yK919Jdjq8<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been listening in on the news in the past couple of days, you\u2019ll more than likely be aware of the McDonalds advert that has recently been pulled from your TV screens.<\/p>\n

The advert was about a boy asking his mother what his father was like, and whether they had any similarities. Up until they end they didn\u2019t have so many similarities, but what they did have in common was their favourite meal order from McDonalds.<\/p>\n

As the key emotion of the advert was bereavement, this caused much upset for those who\u2019d lost family members or even friends.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the adverts release, there were bereavement charities in uproar and plenty of the general public all over social media. It wasn\u2019t long until McDonald’s responded and made the decision to pull the advert from TV.<\/p>\n

Pepsi<\/strong><\/h2>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dA5Yq1DLSmQ<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just McDonald’s who\u2019ve been under fire for insensitive advertising. Pepsi created a campaign that was trying to promote the message of global unity, peace and understanding. But, unfortunately, it didn\u2019t come across that way.<\/p>\n

The advert, featuring celebrity star Kendall Jenner, included peace protests whilst she\u2019s having a photo-shoot. Next thing you know, she comes out and joins in the protest whilst holding a can of Pepsi, to then offer it to one of the police officers as a peace offering. This was seen as an imitation to when Leisha Evans was seen offering peace at the Baton Rouge.<\/p>\n

Dove<\/strong><\/h2>\n