Ronald McDonald Sits Out Creepy Clown News
McDonald's classic clown, Ronald McDonald, is taking a vacation amidst news of so-called "creepy clowns," which have been scaring and possibly harming children. A company representative said, "McDonald's and franchisees in the local markets are mindful of the current climate around clown sightings in communities and as such are being thoughtful in respect to Ronald McDonald's participation in community events for the time being."
The issue began with reports of clowns luring children into unsafe places in South Carolina. Since then, pranks across the country have scared kids and taken much of the fun out of clowning.
Discussion Starters:
- A look at several clown association sites reveals no statement about the issue. Should they have a statement? If so, what? If not, why not?
- Why do you think the associations don't yet have statements? Your response could be related to the previous question-or not.
- Did McDonald's make the right decision in benching Ronald for a while? What's your view of the short statement?
Wells Fargo CEO Steps Down
It was probably just a matter of time. Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf announced his retirement in the wake of a bank scandal that brought the CEO in front of the federal government and brought the company millions of dollars in fines. Stumpf will walk away with about $134 million as his retirement package (although no additional severance pay). According to The Wall Street Journal, the board didn't try to convince Stumpf to continue on.
In a news release, the company included quotations from Stumpf and from the new executives. Stumpf quote read, "I am grateful for the opportunity to have led Wells Fargo. I am also very optimistic about its future, because of our talented and caring team members and the goodwill the stagecoach continues to enjoy with tens of millions of customers. While I have been deeply committed and focused on managing the Company through this period, I have decided it is best for the Company that I step aside. I know no better individual to lead this company forward than Tim Sloan."
A Slate writer called the news "a stunning fall for a banking leader who had helped guide Wells Fargo through the financial crisis and lead the company through its acquisition of Charlotte-based Wachovia." A New York Times writer called Stumpf's resignation "abrupt."
Discussion Starters:
- Do you agree with the reporters' language? Is this a "stunning fall" and an "abrupt departure"?
- Is Stumpf's retirement the right decision for the company at this time? Why or why not? What did the board of directors likely consider in encouraging-or at least accepting-his retirement?
Samsung Trying to Control the Damage
Samsung is dealing with a tough situation: batteries in the Galaxy Note7 have been causing fires. Warnings to turn off Samsung phones are heard on many flights, including mine to Denver this weekend. As the BBC reports, "that sends out a negative message about your products beyond even your own customers."
The company handled the initial reports well but lost favor when its replacements overheated or burned. The BBC article explains the growing issue for Samsung:
"The trouble is that even one phone which catches fire makes for startling pictures and a whole heap of consumer anxiety. Samsung may soon have to decide whether to cut its losses and abandon the Note 7 before it does more damage to its brand."
The New York Times also reported on Samsung's poor crisis communication:
"But for people to see those words, they had to click a link at the top of Samsung's home page with the not-so-urgent label 'Updated Consumer Guidance for the Galaxy Note 7.' As of Tuesday afternoon, the instructions had not been posted to Samsung's Facebook page or the company's Twitter account.
"For some who work in crisis management, it was a baffling and overly passive way for the South Korean electronics giant to deal with a prominent problem that has worsened in the last month."
On its website, Samsung posted this message:
Samsung Will Ask All Global Partners to Stop Sales and Exchanges of Galaxy Note7 While Further Investigation Takes Place
We are working with relevant regulatory bodies to investigate the recently reported cases involving the Galaxy Note7. Because consumers' safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note7 while the investigation is taking place.
We remain committed to working diligently with appropriate regulatory authorities to take all necessary steps to resolve the situation. Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note7 or replacement Galaxy Note7 device should power down and stop using the device and take advantage of the remedies available.
Discussion Starters:
- Look at Samsung's recent news statements about this situation. How well has the company handled communication on its website?
- How, if at all, do you see this issue potentially reflecting poorly on the mobile industry? What should other phone manufacturers do?
Nestle Recalls Ice Cream Cones
Nestle is recalling Drumstick ice cream cones because of Listeria concerns. The company posted a recall notice on its website:
After the introductory paragraph and explanation of product types recalled, the press release provides a Q&A. Questions include where Listeria was found (on equipment, not on the product itself), symptoms of Listeria, how the problem will be prevented in the future, etc.
The list includes two bold questions:
- "Why did it take so long for you to find this?"
- "This sounds like another Blue Bell situation with listeria in ice cream. Is your situation the same as theirs was?"
In response to the first question, the company wrote, "Unfortunately, an error occurred in logging receipt of the test result. We discovered the error during a subsequent review of records. As soon as we identified the error, we notified FDA and initiated the recall."
To the second question, the response is, "No. Each recall has its own unique facts. Except for the coincidence that our recall involved both ice cream and listeria, our situation is much different from Blue Bell's in a number of significant ways, including: (1) we have no listeria findings in the ice cream itself (just the equipment); (2) we have only one product line affected; (3) we have only one facility affected; and (4) we self-identified this event and took precautionary steps to recall product."
Discussion Starters:
- The two questions identified here are risky. Explain the risks and why the company may have chosen to include the questions.
- How do you assess the question about Blue Bell? How does the response help, instead of hurt, Nestle's image?
Iowa State President Used University Plan for Personal Trips
Iowa State President Steven Leath apologized to the university student government for using the school's airplane for personal reasons. Although university administrators said it wasn't true, an Associated Press investigation found that he used the plan to travel to his mountain home in North Carolina, take fundraising trips with a celebrity bowhunter, and send family to NCAA games. The plane was damaged during a landing, and Leath paid $15,000 to cover the expenses. Some reports say Leath traveled with his wife and others for personal reasons on the school's larger plane as well.
Leath told the student government, "I'll be different. We will be very mindful of what we do going forward. I've learned my lesson." The student newspaper also reported an interview with Leath: "I regret all of this," he said. "I don't like to bring any negative image to the university. The fact that there has been all kinds of articles written about this makes me sad."
The news got out when Leath's trips were inadvertently posted on the school's website. They have since been taken down.
Discussion Starters:
- Leath maintains that he didn't violate school policy. Read the school newspaper report and discuss your opinion.
- Leath did reimburse the university for some of the travel. What else, if anything, should Leath do?
- What should the university trustees do?
News Conferences About Hurricane Matthew
After wreaking havoc in Haiti and Cuba, Hurricane Matthew is making its mark on Florida, and politicians are encouraging people to leave the area. One day apart, Florida Governor Rick Scott and Florida Senator Marco Rubio were in front of the press.
Governor Scott emphasizes the potential loss of life and discourages people from focusing too much on the storm path. He wants people to evacuate: "We are preparing for the worst, hoping for the best, and not taking any chances."
Senator Marco Rubio echos a similar theme: "Don't focus so much on the cone as you should on the fact that here, over the new few hours, the winds are going to pick up, the rain is going to come in, and you need to be prepared for what that means."
Discussion Starters:
- Why don't people leave when they're told to evacuate during a storm?
- How well are Scott and Rubio making their points? What else could convince people to leave a vulnerable area?
How Naked Is Naked Juice?
Is Naked juice really "healthy" and worth the money? A lawsuit filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest says Pepsi is misleading consumers with some of its claims.
On the packaging, Pepsi promotes the juice as having "no added sugar" and repeats words like kale, when the truth tells a different story. A 15-ounce bottle of Naked contains eight teaspoons of sugar; compare that to a 16-ounce soda, which has about 12 teaspoons. The company's Kale Blazer certainly emphasizes kale on its label, but the primary ingredients are apple and orange juice, cheap products that don't justify the price consumers pay, according to the lawsuit.
In addition to these misleading statements, the CSPI is faulting Pepsi for not labeling the drinks, "not a low-calorie food," which is required by the FDA when consumers could think otherwise.
Pepsi has responded to the lawsuit:
"Any sugar present in Naked Juice products comes from the fruits and/or vegetables contained within and the sugar content is clearly reflected on label for all consumers to see. Every bottle of Naked Juice clearly identifies the fruit and vegetables that are within."
This isn't Naked's first challenge. In 2013, Pepsi paid $9 million for calling the product "all natural."
Discussion Starters:
- Do you agree more with the lawsuit or with Pepsi's response?
- What's the difference between sugar from fruit and added sugar? How much does this distinction matter?
- If the lawsuit is successful, how should Pepsi change the labels on its Naked products?
Legal Briefs Get (a Little) Shorter
Legal writing isn't business writing. Judges have argued for briefer briefs, but not everyone agrees. Currently, these documents, which detail arguments in a legal case, max out at 14,000 words or about 57 pages of double-spaced text. Lawyers contend that they need more space but have agreed to reduce the number of words by 1,000, which is 1,500 fewer words than the original proposal.
Before lawyers had a word limit for briefs, they had a page limit. But the 50-page limit frustrated judges because lawyers would simply reduce the font size and page margins, making reading difficult.
According to a Wall Street Journal report last year, judges (no surprise) prefer reading shorter briefs:
"It's hard to persuade lawyers on this point, says Bryan Garner, editor of Black's Law Dictionary. "They don't like to own up to their own diffuseness and verbosity," he said. "The way judges rebel at aimless verbose writing is they simply stop reading. The scarcest resource in any judge chamber is a judge's attention."
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas confirmed the sentiment: "When you see one that's 50, and you see this guy has crammed every square centimeter or millimeter he could find on the page, that's when you say, my goodness!"
Discussion Starters:
- What are the value and downsides of having word limits for legal briefs?
- Do you buy lawyers' arguments that they need more words to present their case? Why or why not?
- What types of business documents (other than writing for classes) have page or word limits?
Amazon Cancels Incentivized Reviews
In a blog post, Amazon announced the end of incentivized reviews.
Although the incentives were limited to customers who disclosed that they received a free or discounted product, the reviews were sponsored by companies, and Amazon will change that. Putting the reviews in perspective, Amazon wrote, "These so-called ‘incentivized reviews' make up only a tiny fraction of the tens of millions of reviews on Amazon, and when done carefully, they can be helpful to customers by providing a foundation of reviews for new or less well-known products."
The move is part of Amazon's goal of increasing trust in reviews. In the past, incentivized reviews meant better reviews: 4.74 stars out of 5 compared to 4.36.
Amazon will continue its Vine program, which encourages reviews but doesn't have the same reward system:
"Amazon – not the vendor or seller – identifies and invites trusted and helpful reviewers on Amazon to post opinions about new and pre-release products; we do not incentivise positive star ratings, attempt to influence the content of reviews, or even require a review to be written; and we limit the total number of Vine reviews that we display for each product."
Discussion Starters:
- Analyze Chee Chew's blog post. Who are the primary and secondary audiences? What are the communications objectives, and how well does Chew achieve them?
- How would you describe the distinctions between the incentivized reviews and the Vine program? Are you convinced that Vine reviews will be objective?
More Trouble for Wells Fargo
In what The Wall Street Journal called "another round of blistering criticism," Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf faced the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday. If Elizabeth Warren didn't challenge Stumpf enough last week during the Senate Banking Committee Hearing, Chairman Jeb Hensarling stated early on, in his opening statement, "Fraud is fraud. Theft is theft."
He also said, "All culpable individuals must be held accountable." Earlier in the week, Stumpf was criticized for firing low-level employees but retaining managers. For the first time, Stumpf said that "10% or more" of the 5,300 employees fired were branch managers, but that didn't seem to soothe the committee members. Others expressed enthusiasm for the $41 million clawback (money recovered from Stumpf's compensation), said he should be fired, and encouraged the break-up of Wells Fargo.
Jeff Sonnenfeld, A Yale University School of Management professor, called Stumpf "completely unprepared" and called the scene "political theater."
To make matters worse for Wells Fargo, the bank will pay $24 million in settlements for "allegedly improper repossessions of cars belonging to members of the U.S. military."
Discussion Starters:
- How well did Hensarling introduce the hearings? Did you find him too harsh, right on target, or something else?
- Sonnenfeld also says Stumpf wasn't prepared for questions. Do you agree with his assessment?
- What were Stumpf's strongest and weakest points?
News Conference About the NJ Train Crash
One person was killed and 108 were injured when a train crashed in Hoboken, NJ. What caused the crash is still unclear, and NJ Governor Chris Christie promised an investigation: "We have no indication that this is anything other than a tragic accident but ... we're going to let the law enforcement professionals pursue the facts."
Christie gave a news conference with NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, calling the incident "obviously an extraordinary tragedy." He said it was too early to guess what happened.
- Analyze Christie's delivery skills at the beginning of the press conference. What principles from Chapter 11 does he use?
- Next analyze Cuomo's delivery skills. What similarities and differences do you notice?
- How well do the governors respond to questions? Which were the most difficult to address?
- This isn't the first train crash in the area. Research other recent events and how officials handled those situations.
New Leadership at HomeAway
HomeAway, a property rental site similar to Airbnb, has announced a new CEO. A message from the co-founder and chairman, Brian Sharples, explained the change:
Hello Owners and Property Managers.
I wanted to reach out to you directly to let you know about some big news for both HomeAway and me personally. After 12 years at the helm at HomeAway, I have made the very difficult decision to step down as CEO and have chosen John Kim, our current Chief E-Commerce Officer, to lead the company as President. We will gradually move through this transition and I will remain on board as Chairman until mid-January to advise John and the leadership team for the remainder of the year.
While it's never easy to hand over the reins of something you built, I believe now is the right time to empower the next generation of leadership to take HomeAway to new heights. John is already an incredible driving force for the growth of our company. I'm very comforted in knowing we have someone of his caliber with rich experience in product development and innovation to lead our mission and strategy.
As the vacation market grows, so does the expectation of customers to have a superior online experience. John's proven ability to transform web and mobile sites will help HomeAway build the right customer experience to attract even more travelers to your properties. John looks forward to sharing his vision with you and will be hosting a Q&A session on October 19th at 10:00am CT. Please click here to sign up. You may also submit questions in advance for John to address during this webcast.
I want to thank you for trusting HomeAway with your business and for the feedback and support you have provided me personally over the last several years. You have helped us break ground in this industry, and as a frequent HomeAway traveler, I look forward to seeing many of you at your amazing properties in the coming years!
Best regards and heartfelt appreciations,
Brian Sharples
Co-Founder and Chairman of HomeAway, Inc.
Sharples emphasizes Kim's technology experience and sells the decision to property owners as helping to provide "the right customer experience to attract even more travelers to your properties."
An article in the Austin Business Journal describes HomeAway as a successful business in Austin, TX, founded in 2005 and sold to Expedia last year. In a statement, President and CEO of Expedia Dara Khosrowshahi said that Sharples "leaves behind an incredible foundation and legacy that we plan to build on as part of the Expedia Inc. family." Today, the company has 1,540 employees and lists homes for rent in more than 190 countries.
Discussion Starters:
- Assess Sharples' message. Who is the audience, and what are his objectives? How well does he achieve the objectives?
- The message seems to leave out some information. What is Sharples not saying, and why isn't he clearer?
Marriott + Starwood: Completion Announcement to Staff
The deal is finally done: Marriott and Starwood are one company. Starwood associates received this message from Marriott Communications under the subject line, "A Historic Moment: Marriott + Starwood Merger Complete." The message continues, highlighting the combined company's impressive portfolio of brands and properties. Associates are also invited to find out more on a "new integration site" called "The Platform."
The message comes almost a year after the acquisition was announced and confirms the largest hotel company in the world, with 5,809 properties and more than 1.1 million rooms. Executive Chairman Bill Marriott expressed his enthusiasm for the deal, focusing on people and culture:
"We hope to continue the trend of promoting, developing and working with people. We have the strongest culture, I think, of any lodging company, and of most companies in America. And we'll continue to promote and really strengthen that culture."
Starwood will cease to exist. The HOT symbol will be removed from the New York Stock Exchange.
Discussion Starters:
- In the message, identify all types of sentences: simple, complex, and compound. How varied are the sentences?
- How would you characterize the tone of the message? Do you find it appropriate for the primary audience (Starwood employees?)
Italy Can't Seem To Get "Fertility Day" Ads Right
Italy has stepped into another quagmire of controversy with its second "Fertility Day" ad. To encourage births, the first ad showed a woman with a timer, implying that her child-bearing days are numbered. The caption read, "Beauty has no age. But fertility does." People took offense: some felt it was insulting to people who had trouble conceiving; others felt it encouraged people to procreate regardless of their situation (e.g., no partner or job). The latter may particularly sting because Italy was a high youth unemployment rate: 35%.
The newest ad is deemed racist. Two white couples are featured at the top of a brochure photo, looking happy and healthy. Below this picture is a group of people, including a Black person, smoking marijuana.
Oddly, the bottom photo is similar to one used by Maricopa County Attorney's Office to discourage heroin use in Arizona.
Contrasting people of different races is never a good idea. In a public service announcement earlier this year, the American Red Cross was similarly criticized for showing White people behaving well and people as color behaving badly around a swimming pool.
At first, the Italian health ministry denied the criticism: "The photos represent a homogeneity of people, as is the multi-ethnic society in which we live. Racism is in the eye of the beholder." But the group has since come around: the pamphlet has been removed, as had the first ad.
Italy has the lowest birth rate in the EU, so having a campaign is understandable, but the approach isn't working.
Discussion Starters:
- What's your view of the ad? Do you find it offensive? Can you see how others might?
- Compose a different ad that might help Italy meet its fertility goals.
More Recalls at Blue Bell
Just when we thought the trouble had passed for Blue Bell Creamery, the company is recalling Cookie Dough ice cream because of Listeria concerns. Last year, Blue Bell recalled several products, which resulted in staff layoffs, a difficult situation for a family-owned company with loyal employees.
This time, the company is clearly blaming external supplier Aspen Hills. The latter company's recall announcement tops Blue Bell's webpage. Then, Blue Bell's press release is titled to deflect responsibility:
"BLUE BELL ICE CREAM RECALLS SELECT PRODUCTS CONTAINING CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH PIECES PURCHASED FROM OUTSIDE SUPPLIER ASPEN HILLS DUE TO POSSIBLE HEALTH RISK"
Blue Bell uses a similar strategy on its Facebook page, pointing to Aspen Hills as the cause of the problem. To downplay the issue, the company starts the announcement with "Out of an abundance of caution," further putting the bad news in context. 
Discussion Starters:
- Who are the audiences for Blue Bell's announcement? Identify primary and secondary audiences and analyze each.
- How well is Blue Bell announcing the bad news? Consider principles from Chapter 8, Bad-News Messages.
- Analyze word choices in all Blue Bell communications. Which are the most powerful? Which could be improved?
Yahoo Responds to Data Breach
More than 500 million Yahoo users were affected by a security breach, just as the company is being acquired by Verizon. The breach happened in 2014, and information is surfacing now.
In a Tumblr post, Yahoo explained what information was stolen (and what was not), what the company is doing, and what individuals should do to protect themselves:
"The account information may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (the vast majority with bcrypt) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. The ongoing investigation suggests that stolen information did not include unprotected passwords, payment card data, or bank account information; payment card data and bank account information are not stored in the system that the investigation has found to be affected. Based on the ongoing investigation, Yahoo believes that information associated with at least 500 million user accounts was stolen and the investigation has found no evidence that the state-sponsored actor is currently in Yahoo's network. Yahoo is working closely with law enforcement on this matter."
A Wired article offers this advice: "And for the millionth time: Don't reuse passwords." Wired also discussed the bad timing: "Yahoo's buyout deal is set to become a test case of whether a massive corporate sale can weather an equally massive hacking debacle."
Discussion Starters:
- Read Yahoo's statement. What principles from Chapter 8, Bad-News Messages, are followed?
- How well does Yahoo reassure users? How clearly are the action steps explained?
Wells Fargo CEO Suffers Tough Questions
During the U.S. Senate Committee Hearing, Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf responded to difficult questions, particularly from Senator Elizabeth Warren, a democrat from Massachusetts. Stumpf's prepared responses, particularly the "only 1%" of employees argument, wasn't well received by Warren and others. Warren interrupted with harsh words, telling Stumpf, "You should resign and give back the money you took" and calling his practice "gutless leadership."
Another tense moment, reported by The Wall Street Journal, was when Senator Robert Menendez challenged Stumpf's salary:
Mr. Stumpf said earlier in the hearing that the fired employees had been making "good money" of $35,000 to $60,000 a year, a point that Sen. Robert Menendez brought up. "How much money did you make last year?" asked Sen. Menendez. "$19.3 million," replied Mr. Stumpf.
"Now that's good money," Sen. Menendez replied, unsmiling.
Menendez, from New Jersey, gave a poignant example of a woman's daughter whose credit score was affected by the scandal.
Discussion Starters:
- How would you describe Warren's approach in questioning? Do you find her inquiries fair, unfair, or something else?
- How well did Stumpf respond to Warren's questions?
New Trouble for Christie on the Bridge Closings
After years of denying knowledge about wrongdoing, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie may have a tough time maintaining his stance. In 2013, members of Christie's administration were accused of intentionally closing lanes on the George Washington Bridge to cause problems for the mayor of Fort Lee, who didn't support Christie's re-election. Christie denied the allegations for himself and his senior staff:
"I've made it very clear to everybody on my senior staff that if anyone had any knowledge about this that they needed to come forward to me and tell me about it, and they've all assured me that they don't."
But now the truth comes out: in court filings, text messages between two staffers, Christina Renna and Peter Sheridan, during Christie's news conference in 2013 have indicated otherwise, according to a Wall Street Journal report:
"Are you listening?" Ms. Renna texted Mr. Sheridan, according to the filing. "He just flat out lied about senior staff and [campaign manager Bill] Stepien not being involved."
"I'm listening," Mr. Sheridan replied. "Gov is doing fine. Holding his own up there."
According to the filing, Ms. Renna replied: "Yes. But he lied. And if emails are found with the subpoena or ccfg [Chris Christie for Governor] emails are uncovered in discovery if it comes to that it could be bad."
Mr. Christie, encountering reporters outside a Manhattan radio studio after a guest-host stint on a sports-talk program, called the text-message matter "ridiculous."
"There's nothing new to talk about," he said, according to a video of the exchange posted by the Associated Press. Asked about Ms. Renna's remark that he had lied, Mr. Christie said "yeah, and she was wrong."
Discussion Starters:
- Do you believe Christie's defense? Why or why not?
- Big picture: What is most relevant in this situation? Let's not lose perspective.
- Christie was making a run for president in the 2016 elections. Could this hurt his candidacy for 2020? Also, Trump didn't choose Christie as his running mate, although Christie expressed interest. To what extent do you think his decision was tied to this situation?
Recruiter Rejects Candidate for "Vulgar Comments"
The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) tells the story of a recruiter who rejected a candidate because of comments found on the dating app OkCupid. The recruiter, Sam Oliver, explains his decision in an article and describes the post: "[H]e was calling her obscene names and threatening sexual assault."
Oliver also describes his process for screening candidates online:
"Like most recruiters, I use a variety of sources when evaluating candidates - LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, AngelList, github, reddit, dribbble, the list goes on. Most people's social media is pretty benign: shared memes and jokes, vacation photos, interactions with friends and family. When looking at people's social media, I'm mostly looking to corroborate facts and timelines on their resume - where they live, previous jobs, alma mater, etc. If they've put enough information out there, I might also get an accurate glimpse of their personality, which is very helpful in hiring."
"Unfortunately for him, he had used his LinkedIn head shot as one of his OKCupid profile photos, and it was very easy for me to confirm his identity via a reverse Google image search. To any seasoned recruiter, I deduced his real identity using well-known tricks of the trade; people often do not realize how much information is public and readily accessible via social media."
Both the SHRM article and Oliver explain that the rejection is perfectly legal. You may be thinking that you can't discriminate against applicants, but that applies only to certain qualities, such as race, sex, and age. On the other hand, employers have a legal responsibility to maintain a harassment- and discrimination-free environment, and an employee who writes "threatening" messages online may put an organization at risk.
Although he had no obligation to, Oliver told the applicant why he wouldn't pass his resume along to his client, which gave the applicant a chance to deactivate some accounts and remove incriminating photos.
This situation is a good lesson for students seeking jobs. Assume everything you post can be retrieved and traced back to you.
Discussion Starters:
- Does the recruiter's decision surprise you? Why or why not? What are the downsides to rejecting a candidate based on social media posts?
- What advice from Chapter 12 would have helped this applicant?
- What about your own social media history may put your job search in jeopardy? Use Google and other sites to find as much information about yourself as you can.
Offensive 9/11 Mattress Company Ad
What were they thinking? Miracle Mattress in San Antonio, TX, produced a commercial advertising twin mattress prices for 9/11. At the end of the ad, two employees fall into "towers" of mattresses, and the lead actor says, "We'll never forget."
Understandably, people were outraged. This reminds me of the golf club that used a similar promotion in 2013. Also, this year, Coca-Cola took down a display of soda cartons at a Florida Walmart.
The company owner posted an apology and announced the store's closing on Facebook. He said elsewhere that he was unaware of the ad created by his employees.
Discussion Starters:
- How are these promotions different from, for example, Memorial Day sales?
- Assess the owner's apology. What principles of persuasion does he use? What recommendations do you have for improving the message?
- In this post, the owner didn't mention that he was unaware of the ad, as he did in other sources. What's your view of this choice?