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When a brand’s middle-of-the-road social media post prompts so much backlash that it has to issue a public apology, it’s a pretty good indicator that not taking a clear stand on social issues is increasingly risky for brands. Obviously, I’m talking about the Gap hoodie.
People pleasing
In the backdrop of Gap's hoodie fiasco, one of its subsidiaries quietly adopted a less opinionated approach as well. Athleta ran a middle-of-the-road YouTube spot without a hitch.
- In an election week YouTube ad, Athleta focuses its message around two words: “Women run.”
- A grey-haired woman doing yoga, a mother duck crossing the road, and a female flag football team flash across the screen with the words “Women run the playbook, women run the circus, women run a tight ship,” etc., overlaid across the screen.
Big picture: While celebrating women in positions of power might have been considered left-leaning a few years ago, now it’s closer to the norm. In a 2019 Morning Consult/Ascend poll, 73% of U.S. adults advocated for hiring more women in leadership outside their current companies.
Key takeaways
Here’s what marketers can learn from the differences between the Gap hoodie that sparked outrage and Athleta’s similar spot that…didn’t.
Attention and reach: Athleta’s video only has 10,146 views on YouTube so far, but racked up at least 15.3k views on Twitter. For context, a recent product-focused video from the brand received about 1.4 million views in a similar time frame.
- Meanwhile, Gap’s controversially uncontroversial message blew up on social.
- It's possible Athleta's message didn't attract scrutiny simply because it reached fewer people.
Agencies: Athleta worked with agency Yard NYC to create its election day ad. Gap has not returned Marketing Brew’s request for comment regarding whether there was an agency involved in crafting the now-infamous post.
- Regardless of the answer, amidst the in-housing trend, it's probably still a good idea to have a third party on call to provide perspective during tense times.
Low stakes hot take: Although supporting women is less controversial nowadays, centering women is still a clearer statement of brand values than calling for “unity.”
Bottom line: Sometimes the "safe" option can actually be risky. U.S. brands are 4x more likely to gain a consumer’s trust than lose it when they “take action” on social issues, per Edelman’s Global Spring 2020 Brand Trust Survey.