When someone is unaware of a social disconnect it’ a called social amusia. At best, this social tone-deafness is a harmless social slip-up. At worst it can end up as a public relations nightmare.
Take for example when “woke” social movements came to the forefront of America’s cultural landscape. A good number of companies jumped on the woke bandwagon. Thing is, many of those companies created campaigns around sensitive topics that they didn’t really understand. Unfortunately, many of the attempts at woke washing led to blunders that ranged from merely embarrassing to downright mortifying.
More Than a Little Off Key
For instance, Hyundai wanted to be associated environmental consciousness. They ran a commercial introducing the Hyundai ix35 fuel cell car. They ran a commercial introducing the Hyundai ix35 fuel cell car. The ad called “Pipe Job” was about a failed attempt at suicide by man trying to die of carbon monoxide emitted from a tail pipe. In this case its Hyundai ix35 tail pipe. Its exhaust consists only of water vapor. When the man’s suicide is thwarted, and defeatedly walks to his house. The backlash was deafening.
But came next downshifted Hyundai’s into overdrive. It was a blogpost written by a woman whose father committed suicide in the same way with a Hyundai car. The blogpost also included her father’s suicide note. Hyundai immediately pulled the ad, but it was too late. The blogpost had gone viral. Hyundai scoured the internet to remove “Pipe Jobs. But to this day, the ad can still be found online and continues to rack up clicks.
Name That Tune
DiGiornos is an example of another company trying to align itself with social issues of the time. The hashtag #WhyIStayed had a high volume of clicks. The hashtag had to do with the suspension of NFL player Ray Rice for beating his wife. #WhyIStayed was a collection of domestic violence survivor stories. Unfortunately, DiGiornos began the same hashtag to sell its frozen pizzas. As you can imagine, there was an avalanche of blowback. How long did DiGiornos apologize for its social amusia? A very, very long time.
#FeelYourWay was campaign by Burger King to mark Mental Awareness month. They sold products such as a “Blue Meal” and the “Pissed Meal”. However, Burger King was seen as not only insensitive but also trying to make money off mental illness. Unsurprisingly, their effort to be in sync with mental health ended up fueling a public uproar and slew of angry tweets.
But the cringe-worthy award goes to Spirit Airline for the email it sent to customers during the COVID pandemic. The subject line read, “Never a better time to fly”.
Look Before You Leap
Blunders can be avoided by not rushing to jump on a bandwagon. Be knowledgeable. Be sensitive. Do some qualitative research and concept testing. Combine awareness with a little investigation and you’ll avoid embarrassing mishaps and public relation disasters.
Improve your ability to read a room and social amusia will be quickly replaced by a knack for understanding a collective sentiment.