Good reputations are hard won, yet can be easily damaged; and companies venturing into the world of political debate can find it a dual-edged sword that can spectacularly backfire with social media being the trigger.
Fast forward to today and we learn that ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s has taken to Twitter to berate Home Secretary Priti Patel over her stance on the increased number of migrants making the dangerous trip across the channel to the UK.
The tweet from Ben & Jerry’s UK includes the message: “Hey at PritiPatel we think the real crisis is our lack of humanity for people fleeing war, climate change and torture.”
Whichever side of the fence you stand on this, it’s quite clear that Ben & Jerry’s are likely to upset a significant number of customers over the comments, whilst delighting others. In my opinion, this Twitter tweet is a gamble and only time will tell if it has an impact on sales (either way).
Hitting the right sentiment can be tricky at times and this reminds me of a tale by comedian and quiz show host Bob Monkhouse at a gig at The Albany Comedy Club in 2003 in front of fellow comedians. Sadly, it turned out to be his last performance before his death in December that year.
He recalled taking part in six one-hour show spectaculars for ATV with entertainer Dickie Henderson called “I’m Bob, He’s Dickie.” Bob Monkhouse said: “I must have gone mad. I said to Dickie, who I loved, you know when I do a television show I get about 50 per cent of the available audience; and when you do a show you get about 50 per cent of the available audience. So, if we do a show together, we should get 100 per cent of the available audience.
“We do the shows – the ratings come in and they are invisible to the naked eye. They are under the underfelt. They are a disaster. And I said: “We are getting zero.” Dickie said: “Understand this Bob, half the available audience hates you and the other half hates me. The bar is this way!
