The Advertising Arms Race
On November 8th, 2018, McDonald’s tweeted a message announcing they would be connecting two visual artists from Chicago, Joe Fresh Goods and Elise Swopes, for a collaboration between the two. Joe Fresh Goods creates clothing lines and often collaborates with other famous people such as Chance the Rapper, and the Chicago Bears. Elise Swopes is a visual artist, who describes herself as specializing in photography, influencer marketing, and graphic design. Companies can be seen expanding their advertising as they go beyond what most expect, in order to have their brand stand out in the swarm of countless other brands. McDonald’s is not the only one to try engaging with a younger crowd. A new boxing gym, Rumble, opening up on Chicago’s Gold Coast has used the endorsements of celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Kendall Jenner to promote itself to younger audiences. The growing number of fitness minded people has seen a bloom in all sorts of fitness brands and services, from yoga to cycling to crossfit, all these different services and their respective companies are competing with one another to grab people’s attention. Redbull is another example of such partnerships, working with video game streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins to host a gaming event in the Willis Tower with fans who ranged from ages eight through fourteen.
In our modern world of social media, where everyone is vying for your attention, companies are fighting to have their brand stand out amongst the crowd. They do this through social media and advertising by attempting to appear relatable to their target audience. Many of them are looking to tap into younger generations and potential customers, such as Millenials, but many are looking further into the future by trying to engage with those who would be considered a part of Generation Z. The way these brands are trying to connect with their target audiences requires them to keep up with mainstream culture, which moves at a very fast pace. New trends make old ones obsolete practically overnight, forcing companies to maintain a constant watch in order to shift and adapt their marketing style. Some like Wendy’s, however, use a tactic where their social media presence is represented through a “quirky” persona.
Wendy’s Twitter feed is full of sarcastic and snarky messages to competing fast food chains, as well as witty banter with pop culture references. This method allows for a more stable or thematic marketing plan, as people always expect the snarky comments from Wendy’s on Twitter. Not only do they expect them, they remember them, with many news sites creating articles aggregating the best insults from Wendy’s Twitter feed.
Many take it even further than just trying to connect with younger audiences through young influencers, or pop culture relevancy. The use of controversy in advertising has become more notable. The competition among brands for people’s attention has gotten to the point where many advertising stunts that were once notable, are now quite mundane, and very “ignorable”. Controversy has been shown as a very effective way of standing out however. When making a statement on a polarizing subject, there is oftentimes a very strong amount of supporters, as well as detractors. Many see this as a company stepping out of line, some feel that a company selling razors shouldn’t be making any sort of statement on masculinity and should focus on selling their razors, for example.
In order to ensure their relevance, many of these brands feel the need to take part in public discourse, engaging in matters of social justice. Whether it’s something like Gillette making an ad that speaks about masculinity, or Nike supporting Colin Kaepernick in his protest against police brutality. Brands seemingly unrelated to these topics are suddenly making statements about situations that many would not expect them to be involved in. With more and more companies getting involved in the discussions surrounding social issues, it’s of course possible that they have a legitimate concern for these issues that we face, however it is also important to note that they understand who their target audience is, and that they likely have weighed the cost of offending some, against the the profit they stand to gain from the increased attention and support.
The Nike advertisement with Colin Kaepernick caused quite a bit of division, resulting in many burning or destroying their Nike products, however it also resulted in a six billion dollar increase for their market value. Gillette’s sales followed a similar trend with Procter & Gamble reporting no significant hit to their sales, and an increase in media coverage. These companies have turned fighting for social justice and being “woke” into a marketing scheme. The sheer amount of coverage from engaging in controversial topics results in returns through free advertising by the media and people who are both supporting and condemning the statement. They are well aware of the amount of customers they would burn through these advertisements, but also know what they stand to gain from those who support it, as well as having that precious moment in the spotlight where they can drown out all others.
These days, the competition for coverage and attention across all companies and their brands has ramped up, and does not seem to be easing any time soon. Whether it is engaging others through young and trendy influencers, or throwing gasoline on the fires of controversial social matters, businesses are looking to find ways to stand out in an endless storm of advertising. The fight for your attention is something that many take for granted, and while many consumers probably understand the profit driven motives behind these marketing decisions, we should also consider the effects of using controversial advertising has as well. They often come at the cost of inflaming the divisions between people, with little change truly made as they inevitably lose their moment in the spotlight. With advertising becoming bolder in their statements, we will have to confront how we navigate through it all, and choose which are or are not worth our attention.
