Ram‘s Super Bowl Commercial Crashes and Burns After Social Media Backlash
Ram’s reputation is sinking deeper and deeper with every retweet, dislike and share of its latest commercial. The Ram Trucks Super Bowl commercial was released on February 4th, 2018 and faced significant backlash and controversy after it was voiced over with a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. Thousands of viewers across social media felt offended by the timing of the commercial and felt that it tried to manipulate consumers and exploit MLK. While some viewers saw nothing wrong with the ad, it evidently wasn’t worth the over $5 million spent on it. The brand intended to deliver a positive message about working hard while honouring Martin Luther King Jr. and representing a diverse group of people, but failed miserably in its execution.
From Twitter to Tumblr, people in different communities on social media that had just seen the Ram commercial live were able to voice the many issues that they had with it. It was certainly a controversial decision to use the voice of a black civil rights activist like Martin Luther King Jr. following recent issues in the media, such as racial injustice and players kneeling during the national anthem as a form of protest. It seemed to trivialize the importance of these topics without actually addressing them, especially when racial inequality is such a contested issue. Many found this insensitive to the discrimination and microaggressions black people face on a daily basis, such as police brutality, carding, college or job acceptance and various negative stereotypes. Furthermore, the commercial perturbed viewers by trying to exploit a black civil rights activist like MLK for economic gain.
A tweet by Akilah Hughes circulated the Internet saying,
It was inappropriate to use the honour and popularity of Martin Luther King Jr. to sell trucks. Ram was using the story and struggle of a black person in an attempt to gain from something sensitive and serious.
In addition to being inappropriate for its timing and exploitation of Martin Luther King Jr., many people on social media found Ram’s tactics of emotional manipulation insulting. MLK has absolutely nothing to do with Ram trucks, but the company tried to associate its products with his reputation and his message of equality and hard work. We are in an age now where consumers have become aware of these tactics and respond negatively towards commercials that aim to manipulate them or exploit social justice. Ram should have learned from Pepsi’s ad featuring Kendall Jenner, which received extremely negative reviews from the political left and right when it came out last year. The commercial exploited protests for social justice and made it appear as though Kendall solved the issue of inequality and created harmony between the authorities and regular citizens when she handed a can of Pepsi over to an officer. While Ram didn’t imply that buying its trucks could solve inequality, the company affected its reputation and potentially impacted its sales through its exploitative measures.
Even though Ram’s Super Bowl commercial was primarily disliked on social media, there were still some people that liked it and it is possible to see why the company made the decision to air it. Some people liked the diversity represented in the video, as it featured people from various jobs, locations, ages, genders and races. The commercial also featured a positive message of working hard to provide a service, which viewers were expected to connect to the company’s trucks. Ram likely anticipated this to be the average response of viewers instead of the negative backlash it received. The executives behind this commercial clearly wanted to grab the public’s attention by playing audio from a Martin Luther King Jr. speech because he is regarded as a heroic and influential figure in America. It would be naïve to think that the people behind the Ram commercial were unaware of how big of an issue social justice has become in the media. MLK was used to start a conversation and associate Ram with the fight for equality that Martin Luther King Jr. fought for.
While the conversation didn’t turn out to be as positive as anticipated, the commercial has circulated the Internet through social media. Even negative publicity can work in one’s favour because it makes people aware of a brand or product that they might not have otherwise heard of. However, Ram was already a very well known company and I’m doubtful that many people who saw their commercial were unaware of the company’s existence. On the bright side for Ram, it seems unlikely that one commercial capitalizing off of Martin Luther King Jr. is going to be a significant determining factor in most people’s truck purchasing decisions. The company may have wasted over $5+ million on its commercial and received negative reactions, but stories on social media arise so quickly that people will soon forget about their disastrous Super Bowl ad. While social media helps spread controversial events or topics, the fast-paced environment of the Internet also helps people forget things quicker once a new story emerges.
