(When it comes to coronavirus, the same mantra applies to both medicine and marketing: First, do no harm.
For brands considering a coronavirus message, the public forum could not be more fraught. Humor is no-no. Hugs and high fives are also a bad idea. And anything too overt and pragmatic will be seen as crassly opportunistic. Yes, it might have been a good time for Taco Bell to reconsider its free “Taco Tuesday.”
I’m still trying to figure out if the Durex creative was savvy or a shambles. The condom brand drew up a number of quarantine tips with the tagline: “There is nothing to do but each other. Stay safe.” Apparently, Durex hasn't been tracking the sourdough-starter phenomenon, but its efforts no doubt move the needle with the Spring Break set.
Twitter put out a helpful primer on corporate crisis communications. “Let’s be clear, this is not a ‘marketing opportunity’ to capitalize on,” it advised. Nevertheless, consumer-facing brands want to be part of the conversation and, tigers aside, what else are we all talking about?
McDonald's has met the do-no-harm threshold with an earnest, albeit vapid, spot reminding people to use its drive-through lanes. Burger King, perhaps realizing that consumers are plenty familiar with how fast-food joints work, is offering instruction on making a "quarantine Whopper" at home.
Generally, the Covid-19 messaging has evolved into three genres. There is the spot touting a company’s philanthropy or public service—say JetBlue waiving cancellation fees or U-Haul offering college refugees free storage. There is the message highlighting a new process or product. Domino’s is touting "contactless" delivery, for example, and West Elm is offering some highly stylized virtual backgrounds for Zoom happy hour. Finally, there’s the emotional call-out; the spot that essentially acknowledges "we’re all in this together," albeit with a well-placed logo. Vox’s Meredith Haggerty calls this companies “volunteering for a vibe check.” “When it seems the entire economy is crumbling in a matter of weeks,” she wrote, “it’s something they need to say. It’s probably something we need to hear.”
The truth is, messaging for a brand like Buffalo Wild Wings or Jack Daniels or Ikea is about cultivating general bonhomie, pandemic or no pandemic. The easiest way to do that is to subtly and tastefully align with an emotionally charged moment, and boy do we have one of those on our hands! A creative team that can't tastefully show up right now isn't worth its Eames chairs.
Visa, a perennial Olympics fixture, knows the playbook well. It enlisted some of the athletes it had lined up for this summer's Games and produced spots of them training indoors. The tagline: "Do Your Part Like An Olympian." Nike came up with a similar angle in a 60-second ad, encouraging viewers to "play for the world," by sticking to their driveway hoops and basement trampolines. AB InBev, meanwhile, hit the trifecta. It's Covid commercial is clever, powerful and backed by a major philanthropic commitment.
Doing a modicum of good in a maelstrom of heartbreak. Paying witness. That's going to resonate just fine at the moment.
Businessweek and Beyond
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©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
