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No joy for BMW’s #GenerationJoy campaign: An epic advertising fail
The advert features a model standing next to one of the brand’s latest models, with the phrase 'I am my ancestors wildest dreams' with the word ancestors' struck off.
Image: Twitter
This week saw our attention as South Africans turned to another epic fail for the local advertising industry after the public came down on luxury German car brand BMW on social media, for running an advert that was seemingly offensive.
The advert features a plush black female model standing next to one of the brand’s latest models, with the phrase “I am my ancestors wildest dreams” with the word ancestor struck off.
The advert comes off as completely tone deaf as social media users accused the brand of racism and trivialising the black community’s beliefs.
ALSO READ: Clicks CEO says juniors responsible for ‘racially insensitive’ advert
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, luxury fashion brand Balenciaga – associated with the likes of Nicole Kidman and Kim Kardashian – released images of its Spring 2023 collection, where a number of toddlers are seen holding teddybears in BDSM bondage gear, and surrounded by a number of items the brand has for sale, but include that of a few bondage items.
The brand was slammed over its alleged promoting of child pornography, among other things.
A third example of an advertising campaign gone wrong, was two years ago, where Click advertised hair products featuring a black model to illustrate “damaged hair” and a white model to show “fine hair”.
Who even publishes these adverts?
The question so many people are asking is, how is it that these adverts pass through the eyes of several agents before they are published, and not one of these learned individuals are able to pick up the offense the filters through.
Brand consultancy and market research firm, called Provoke Insights, explained that generally, these adverts are passed through a rigorous assessment process that involved ad testing, copy testing, video testing, and message testing by specifically assigned individuals on a marketing team who are well-versed with the audience to whom the advert is directed. There is also a method to tweak how the advert is received.
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“The easiest way to make sure that an ad is being received well is to develop a survey that shows the advertisement to the respondent, and asks them what they think.
“This gives direct feedback that helps you improve your advertisement, and will uncover any potential red flags consumers might have,” the company advised. Preferably, they should not be directly involved in the company or with the brand.
So why are these brands still getting it wrong?
According to Akerink.com – a PR company based in the US – brands unintentionally offending the masses is more common than one thinks, as it goes on to list example of advertising faux pas by names such as Pepsi.
The company believes that the reason so many of these brands are getting it wrong is because they are not asking themselves the right questions when it comes to ad screening.
The company offers three highly valuable questions that advertising agencies could ask themselves regarding a campaign to measure whether is borders on the offensive or not.
These are: Does the campaign rely on sweeping generalisations or stereotypes? Have I reached out to relevant groups for feedback? Is my company qualified to comment on this particular issue?
South Africans did not believe that BMW was qualified to comment on this particular issue – namely the painful South African past that still has repercussions on generations years and years later.
Local celeb, Anele Mdoda even criticised the brand for their oversight:
And while brands like Balenciaga are still left cleaning up the mess after the offensive images, others like Clicks have managed to issue a public apology and live down the whole mess.
But can brands really bounce back from these mishaps?
They can. Rowan Sewchurran – a brand reputation manager at Writers Bureau – explained: “Common recourse for similar reputational crises is to issue an apology, that would concede to an oversight. Little explanation is offered beyond this.
“The brand generally will declare their commitment to the contrary.
“We’ve seen in the past, that a company or individual’s reputation is a porcelain doll, but depending on how well that reputation was maintained, confidence in the product is often restored quite quickly.
“To cite the Clicks debacle, we saw just how damaging the repercussions of an ignorant campaign was, and this remains top of mind with many.
“South Africa is a diverse country, and sensitivity must be applied to any campaign. It is worrying how easily these things reach the public, and it begs questions of a company’s vetting processes.
“Beyond a public statement, some businesses may go on a campaign to restore confidence in their product via a roadshow.”
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