The soft drinks company Pepsi had to scrap an expensive advertising campaign last year and issue a full apology after an advertisement of theirs was roundly condemned for trivialising the Black Lives Matter political campaign. It did though display how eager corporations are now to woke-wash their image - to appropriate social justice concerns as part of their marketing strategy.Įffective woke-washing needs the gentlest of touches. The action was condemned as a “stunt” by a leading Gay Rights grouping. Paddy Power would not previously have been known for their championing of and commitment to the LGBT community. The gambling company said they were making a statement about the fact that none of the top 500 Premier League footballers were openly gay and the bus was to “encourage gay players to step up and come out”. ![]() ![]() Last month (August) the gambling company Paddy Power sent an empty double decker bus to participate in Brighton’s Gay Pride march, saying it was “the official bus of gay professional footballers”. “Compassionate Capitalism” has a softer, fluffier feel to it. The company would have factored in some negative response - witness the amount of people ceremoniously burning their Nike sports clothes and calling for a boycott of the company in the wake of the announcement.Īs in “green-washing” - the deceptive use by corporations to promote the perception that their products are environmentally friendly, this new marketing spin cycle of woke-washing sees corporations eager to tell us about their progressive values as part of their advertising pitch.īut you’re not supposed to call it woke-washing - it’s pejorative. Nike, well aware that Kaepernick is a political lightning rod, made a bold corporate move by signing up the American footballer. Donald Trump called for him to be sacked from his job for “disrespecting” the national anthem. ![]() The reaction to Kaepernick broke along traditional liberal and conservative lines - the former applauded him using his profile to highlight the disproportionate amount of black men being shot dead by police officers in the U.S the latter deemed him to be “a disgrace” and “unpatriotic”. national anthem - instead he knelt down on one knee as a protest against racial injustice in the country. Kaepernick, an American footballer, ignited a controversial national debate when two years ago at a football match he refused to stand for the customary playing of the U.S. In less than 24 hours after announcing Colin Kaepernick as the face of their new marketing campaign, the multinational sportswear company, Nike, received more than $43 million worth of media exposure - the vast majority of it positive.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |