CAMPAIGNS

No Mimosas for You, Tropicana

Sobriety advocates and parents agreed—Tropicana’s recent “TakeAMimoment” campaign was pretty bad. But you know what wasn’t that bad? The OJ brand’s public apology. 

• Per Ad Age, the campaign urged “stressed-out parents to stash the orange juice and Champagne in hidden mini fridges, so they can enjoy surreptitious cocktails.”
• Sobriety advocates spoke out on social media, saying Tropicana’s ad was far less than helpful to sober parents.

Why it matters: Ok, so we could talk about everything Tropicana did wrong here. But in marketing, everyone messes up sometimes. So let’s explore what Tropicana did right in its public apology—because it’s always just a matter of time until you’ll need to do the same.

Apology anatomy

Apology expert Aaron Lazare, who wrote On Apology, says a good “I’m sorry” has four parts: acknowledgement, explanation, remorse and repair.

Repair : Tropicana clearly outlined the steps it’s taking to right the mimosa wrong. “We’re ceasing any further activity in support of the campaign. We value the comments and perspectives that have been shared and will use it as a lens for evaluating future campaigns.”

• These two short sentences accomplish two things. 1) They let the audience know Tropicana’s putting its money where its citrusy mouth is. 2) They confirm the brand cares about its audience’s response. 

Acknowledgement and remorse : Rather than keeping the acknowledgement simple, Tropicana shifts the blame to those offended, saying “We want to apologize to anyone who is disappointed in or offended by our recent campaign” rather than “We apologize for our actions,” period.

• Per Contagious’s brand apology guide, “The only sin more cardinal than not saying sorry at all is saying ‘sorry if…’”

Explanation : Tropicana nailed this part. “The intent behind it was in no way meant to imply that alcohol is the answer or make light of the struggles of addiction...we believed we were bringing the #TakeAMimoment program to life in the right way—through a message of positivity and balance mixed with a bit of levity.” 

• Explaining the intent behind offensive creative is crucial—it lets the hurt party step into the brand’s shoes, creating an easier path to forgiveness. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Nature is Healing

Just like when the dolphins and swans “returned” to Venetian canals, Clorox and Unilever have returned to Facebook, after boycotting the platform and its subsidiaries since June.

Spending time away from Facebook in a marketing landscape Zuckerberg basically owns can teach you a lot—read on for what you can learn from these brands’ time away.

Fast and slow: While Unilever’s return will happen all at once, Clorox will simply dip a toe back in—partly because it learned how to spend elsewhere. 

• “I think we increased our learning on TikTok pretty quickly as a result,” Clorox Chief Marketing Officer Stacey Grier told Ad Age. 
• “We’ve been a longtime Google fan and partner, and I think we’ve accelerated there...we’ve really thought differently about how we use influencer content,” Grier continued. 

Bottom line: Clorox is a rare brand that thrived during the pandemic, for obvious reasons. But Clorox's FB detox sent it to one familiar place (Google) and gave it more energy to tinker with a new toy (TikTok).

+1: New Facebook ad price data from growth marketing agency Aisle Rocket confirms what we already knew—“beyond an initial commercial activity standstill at the onset of the pandemic, Facebook ad metrics showed a relative resilience in the face of current events that could have threatened its bottom line,” per Adweek.

STRATEGIES

Are Obscenities That Obscene?

If I told you using curse words in your copy could lead to better performance, would you do it? Two recent stats from an article by former Brandweek EIC Tom Wasserman make the case for it:

• “A paper co-written by [San Diego State University psychologist Jean M.] Twenge found books written between 2005 and 2008 were 28 times more likely to include swear words than books published in the early 1950s,” Wasserman wrote for Adweek.
• Additionally, “A recent study by Twenge indicates that the growth in the usage of such words reflects not more vulgar manners, but increased individualism and free expression,” Wasserman continued.

TL;DR: Swearing has become fluffing popular in modern language and could invoke a free-spirited tone rather than an offensive one...so why not sprinkle some bad words into your copy? 

+1: You might not actually have to use a four letter word to get some of the effect. Take Jell-O’s “Fun My Life,” Kraft’s “Get Your Chef Together,” and Booking.com’s “You Booking Did It,” for instance. 

My takeaway: There are obvious exceptions to this rule (maybe don’t go all sailor talk on the Pampers’ diaper box copy). But if ad copy is supposed to be an authentic representation of the way people talk, and if your product calls for a hint of individualism, is saying “Fun my life” really so bad? 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Oracle uncovered a CTV ad fraud scheme called StreamScam that affected 28.8+ million household IP addresses over the past few months. 
• Instagram is testing sharing Reels to the Facebook news feed.
• T-Mobile lost exclusive rights to the brand color magenta in France, beaten out by insurance company Lemonade.
• Univision plans to launch an ad-supported streaming service in H1 2021.

FRENCH PRESS

Marketing tips to make you fancy

Instagram: Later released a guide to creating the perfect Instagram bio, whether for the brand you rep or your own personal brand. 

SaaS: This SaaS case study on Canva’s growth strategy will blow your mind a little, as a treat.

SEO: Here’s how to build the right set of SEO resources and goals for your company.

CMOs: Friend of the Brew Junae Brown, aka Beyoncé of Marketing, will be on the CMO Series on Wednesday, so mark your calendars.

CMO SENTIMENTS

Sign up here for Morning Brew CEO Alex Lieberman’s CMO Series on LinkedIn, in which he chats with the most important marketing leaders in the industry. Then read on for three questions that’ll help you get to know these marketing leaders a little better.

Alex’s lovely guest of the moment is Simon Huck, CEO of Judy and president of Command Entertainment Group. Huck talked all things PR, brand launches, and celebrity partnerships in the interview...and about this stuff, of course:

Alex Lieberman: Best book you’ve read or podcast you’ve listened to since the beginning of the year? 

Simon Huck: The Sleep Solution by Dr. Chris Winter. He cured me of my sleeping issues.

AL: How do you take your coffee?
SH: Quad latte with soy.

AL: Who is your favorite Kardashian?

SH: I’m gonna say Kris Jenner. The queen. She should be on Morning Brew—talk about marketing wizard.

Watch the full interview, and any others you might have missed, here.

ICYMI

Catch up on the top Marketing Brew stories from the last few editions.

• Twitter appoints Beverly W. Jackson VP of Global Brand and Consumer Marketing
• Travis Scott enters competitive hard seltzer category with Cacti
• Facebook took out full page newspaper ads criticizing Apple’s IDFA changes