Prevent Scandals And Lost Customers: Lessons From E.L.F. And Swatch

Forbes

5 hours ago

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 09: Steven Bertoni interviews Matt Rife at the Forbes Top 50 Creators Celebration at Forbes on Fifth on November 09, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by) Getty Images
There have been a number of brand missteps lately that has droves of consumers and even governing organizations weighing in.
And while brands are not perfect, these unforced errors are all avoidable.
Recently, consumers of cosmetics brand E.L.F. Cosmetics were upset because the brand posted an ad featuring comedian Matt Rife. In his Netflix special a few years ago, Rife made a joke about domestic violence that many women found distasteful. For consumers, seeing Rife in an ad with a brand they love and use – and one that is often touted for its commitment to inclusion felt like it was a betrayal of their brand values.
People had a lot of thoughts about the ad on social media. Some on Instagram responded, 'And that's me not buying elf again.' Another shared, 'This is not it, poor choices. Lost another customer, and I hope you will think about your actions and pick better ones.' Another customer on LinkedIn wrote, 'I'm looking for a new liquid eyeliner recommendation.'
E.L.F. made a statement acknowledging consumers outrage, but did not remove the ad from circulation (this angered consumers even more).
As a result of the misstep, many consumers vowed to find another beauty brand to buy their makeup from.
Watchmaker Swatch came under fire when it posted a series of photos to promote its Swatch ESSENTIALS collection, that included an image of a male Asian model pulling the edges of his eyelids back. Consumers, especially in China were outraged, as they felt the image showcased harmful imagery that has been used for a long time to denigrate Asian people.
Consumers on social media in China were clear about their disdain for the ad. One person wrote, 'I am tossing out all my swatch watches and anything under your brand. Disgusted.' Another wrote, 'Unforgiveable and disrespectful.' And another said, 'Sack the entire marketing team and bar the ad company for making such an obviously taunting advertisement.'
Swatch has since made a statement about consumer feedback and removed that image from the circulation.
And an ad for Sanex body gel just got banned in the U.K. by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ad, reminiscent of a Dove ad that received a lot of backlash a few years back, featured two Black models that the voiceover described as having skin that makes them want to 'scratch day and night,' as well as, 'to those whose skin will feel dried out even by water.' One of these models appears to have dried mud caked on their skin. A white model then appears, with no visable skin concerns, along with the voiceover that says 'relief could be as simple as a shower.'
The ASA explained why they ruled that the ad should no longer be shown in the current format, 'The ad was therefore structured in such a way that it was the black skin, depicted in association with itchy and dry skin, which was shown to be problematic and uncomfortable, whereas the white skin, depicted as smoother and clean after using the product, was shown successfully changed and resolved.'
ASA acknowledged that they don't believe Sanex, whose parent company is Colgate-Palmolive, intended any harm with the ad. However, intention and impact are two separate things, and ASA felt the message the ad communicated, 'could be interpreted as suggesting that white skin was superior to black skin.'
There is the obvious recommendations that you'll hear, such as having diverse team members who are representative of the people you are trying to serve. While building high-performing teams with diverse lived experiences helps brands produce better work, that is often a longer-term solution.
One of the ways I recommend brands avoid these types of land mines is by testing campaigns with consumers before it goes live. Brands are often investing a ton of resources in these campaigns. Investing a little more to get a pulse of what the consumers you are trying to reach actually think about what you've produced goes a long way.
China is an important market for Swatch. If they had just tested the campaign with even a few people in the Chinese market, they very likely would have gotten feedback about that image that wouldn't have cost them customers and turned into a PR nightmare.
The key to doing to being effective with this type of testing includes two things that are often forgotten. First, brands should be sure to include consumers in the testing who are not only part of their ideal customer group, but who share the identities of people who are showcased or spoken about in your campaign.
In addition, consumers participating in research will often answer the questions asked of them. If you don't ask them specific questions related to their identity and how they respond or feel about the campaign, you might not get the type of input you are looking for.
I've found that very often marketers and uncomfortable bringing up specific areas of identity, such as race, and as a result, they miss the opportunity to get the meaningful and relevant feedback needed, that can prevent them from making an impact that isn't what was intended.
Also, brands can't make culturally competent and intelligent campaigns and communications, if the teams doing and approving the work do not have cultural competence or intelligence.
The team at Sanex said that they intentionally used models of different races in their ads to showcase diversity. Representation matters, but not all representation is good representation. A degree of cultural competence should have flagged problem areas of what the imagery could be interpreted as being portrayed. But if no one has that competency, ads like these will slip through over and over again.
The solution for brands to deliver campaigns and communications that helps them acquire more of the people they want to serve, rather than pushing them away, comes down to upgrading the skills and practices of marketing teams, to align with the needs of the consumer of today.
We are not in the same marketing environment we were in ten, five, or even three years ago. Today's consumer has evolved, and brands need to evolve their skills and practices according to win and keep those customers.