It wasn’t always like this. Earlier, customers demanded that companies should speak their minds when it came to issues that were deemed important to the society. And companies would gladly comply. But then, came a point where social media users excavated old tweets/comments made by the company and put companies and their leaders at a pedestal expecting clarifications(read apology) from the company. There have been instances here corporates have sheepishly removed the top management only because there was an outrage because of one of them speaking for/against an issue that the society was dealing with.  

What is meant precisely when a brand is “cancelled.” The expression “to be cancelled” refers to the brand or person in question being completely boycotted and ostracized, with all public support being withdrawn. It is an outgrowth of the call-out culture that expanded with the advent of movements like the #MeToo campaign. 

Now here comes the dilemma. When companies take a stand on any issue, there will always be a section of society that will not agree with it. Now these people will want to make the company feel sorry for it and what better way to hurt it economically. Here comes the idea of cancel culture, wherein just because you do not agree with others’ point of view, you vow to never interact with them or use their products. This of course, will hurt the company’s financial interests.  

The cancel culture controversy has more recently entered the field of marketing and advertising. For good reason, brands have always refrained from engaging in politics; by adopting a position, they risk alienating a sizable portion of their client base. However, in today’s more divisive environment, remaining neutral can pose a greater risk. Brands cannot afford to maintain their neutrality since doing so is seen as being complicit. It is now expected of them to speak their stance which in turn will be scrutinized in the public eye. For example, the Black lives Matter campaign had a huge impact on the people and they expected companies to speak about it. 

Brands and their brand communication with their target market are impacted considerably by cancel culture. Internet trolling is now a widespread occurrence. In recent times, it has generated controversy and drawn attention to a lot of customers. For example, Due to one of their promotional campaigns during Diwali festival, one of the well-known jewellery brand had to deal with the wrath of the public. However, this particular jewellery brand very smartly was able to divide consumers wherein along with the boycott hashtag, support hashtag in favor of the company was also trending. The company got away but it will not always be the same every time.  

Due to their activities/views/statements, whether deliberate or unintentional, big corporations and celebrities in 2021, including J.K. Rowling, Ellen DeGeneres, Netflix, L’Oréal, received backlash from netizens. Indian companies like Zomato, Titan also faced the wrath of consumers in this context. Marketers must accept that consumers want to hold businesses and celebrities accountable for what they say or do. 

To conclude, we may assume that the current trend of cancelling brands and celebrities on their views and actions isn’t going away anytime soon. What brands can do is be smart about their statements, giving away not too much, while still respecting opinions from both sides. 

GNIOT Institute of Management Studies
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Silky Gaur
GNIOT Institute of Management Studies

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