The Biggest Brand Fails of 2023, and What They Taught Us

There was plenty to celebrate for the advertising and marketing industry in 2023, from taboo-busting creative work to media innovation and leaps in technology. However, some are ready to leave this year in the rearview mirror. As marketers look forward to 2024, we would be remiss not to reflect on some of the PR crises that dominated the headlines in 2023 and explore what lessons the industry can take from them. 1.The Bud Light Boycott Bud Light alienated LGBTQ+ consumers over its botched response to right-wing abuse leveled at Mulvaney What happened? It’s been a disastrous 2023 for Bud Light. America’s dethroned bestselling beer found itself in hot water back in April, when transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney promoted Bud Light on her social media platforms as part of a planned partnership. The post received transphobic backlash, with conservatives calling for a boycott. On the other side, members of LGBTQ+ communities and their allies also rejected the brand for failing to quickly speak out and stand by Mulvaney. In the statement, Bud said: "The privacy and safety of our employees and our partners is always our top priority. As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best – brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter to our consumers." By June, sales had fallen and Modelo Especial had displaced Bud Light as America’s best-selling beer. In October, Bud Light continued to strain AB InBev’s bottom line in the market, with the company reporting a 13.5% decline in third-quarter U.S. revenue. At the end of 2023, Benoit Garbe, the U.S. chief marketing officer of parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev, announced plans to resign. The company doesn’t intend to replace him, instead handing the marketing remit to U.S. chief commercial officer Kyle Norrington. Lesson learned: In Mulvaney’s own words: “If you’re going to ask us to capitalize on our vulnerabilities and our traumas, at least have our backs when the going gets tough.” Jamie Ray, co-founder of creator agency Buttermilk, said Bud Light’s fall from grace shows that brands need to be less performative with their allyship in 2024. “If any brand exists in an egocentric echo chamber, not listening to their employees, peers or community of consumers, they will fail. Then, when they actively get anything wrong, who is going to save them?” he asked. He added: "[Bud Light’s] mistake was made by marketing, and could and should have been rectified by marketing. It shows a lack of consumer and cultural understanding.” 2. X’s Advertiser Exodus Musk has a vision to turn X into an 'everything app' What happened?The New York Times has forecast X could lose as much as $75 million in advertising revenue by the 2023, thanks to dozens of major brands pausing their marketing campaigns. It’s hard to know where to begin unraveling the story of how Elon Musk’s 2022 takeover of X (formerly Twitter) has resulted in a brand exodus. So it might be best to begin at the end. In November, Musk delivered a message to advertisers: “Go f*ck yourselves.” The explicit dispatch came during a public conversation with the Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin, where Musk said he wouldn’t be “blackmailed” by advertisers.The blunt response followed 12 months of brands publicly pulling out of ads on X due to concerns over Musk’s public tirades, as well hateful and extremist content and misinformation. Clients who have halted spend over brand safety concerns include Apple, Comcast, Disney, IBM, Lions Gate Entertainment, NBCUniversal, Paramount Global and Warner Bros Discovery. Not even the appointment of former NBCU exec Linda Yaccarino as CEO has been enough to woo brands back, leaving X facing a very real revenue gap in 2024. Lesson learned: Musk seems intent on charging ahead with his “free speech absolutism” and turning X into an “everything app” at any cost. However, if 2023 has taught the industry anything it’s that advertisers now have quick responses in place when it comes to brand safety and adjacency, and they're not afraid to put their money where their mouths are. “The latest comments continue to reinforce the now widely held view that Musk isn’t fit to lead a platform that’s a safe place for brands to be a part of,” Mobbie Nazir, chief strategy officer at We Are Social, told Adweek in November. “It’s not a big reach to say that if Musk doesn’t get his act together, X could fade into obscurity.” X's rebrand is also a cautionary tale that, sometimes, a facelift can do more damage than good. According to Brand Finance, the relaunch wiped out an estimated $4 billion worth of brand value that was once associated with the pervasiveness of the Twitter brand. 3. Zara’s ‘Insensitive’ Ad Campaign Some found Zara's images offensive. What happened? Spanish fashion brand Zara is well known for its quirky fashion photography. Think: models standing at the stove in lime green high heels or inexplicably holding a computer chair while showcasing a jacket. However, in November the retailer was accused of being tone-deaf by critics after it released a campaign featuring mannequins with missing limbs, wrapped in white sheets, surrounded by rubble. Some commentators likened the photos to the media images coming out of Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians have been killed and thousands of others wounded following Israeli airstrikes. Zara’s Instagram account saw tens of thousands of comments posted about the photos, many with Palestinian flags, while “#BoycottZara” was trending on X. Within a few days, Zara removed the campaign and issued a statement. It said the photos were conceived in July (prior to the current Israel-Palestine war), shot in September, and inspired by men’s tailoring from past centuries. "Unfortunately, some customers felt offended by these images, which have now been removed, and saw in them something far from what was intended when they were created," the statement concluded. "Zara regrets that misunderstanding and we reaffirm our deep respect toward everyone.” Lesson learned: As Bud learned with its Mulvaney backlash, what's happening online can quickly have a material impact. Media intelligence firm Carma reported a sharp decline in Zara's brand sentiment in the days after the social media furore. Negativity surged to 76.4%, while positivity dwindled to 4.2%. Prior to the incident, these sentiments stood at 31.6%, and 13.6%, respectively. Another lesson: Forward planning is good, but it's up to the marketing, design and art teams to double and triple check campaign imagery before it goes live for any topical sensitivities. British retailer Marks & Spencer also found this out the hard way with its Christmas campaign, also filmed in summer, which faced criticism for an Instagram post showing Christmas party hats in the colors of the Palestinian flag on fire. 4. Target Accused of ‘Rainbow Capitalism’ Target took some of its LGBTQ+ Pride clothing range off shelves in May, following pressure from right-wing consumers What happened? In May, Target came under scrutiny after announcing plans to pull some of its Pride-themed clothing and product collection following what a corporate spokesperson described as “threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and wellbeing while at work.” The brand had been supporting Pride month for over a decade through the range. However, in 2023 consumers on the right began to seize on Target’s fairly par-for-the-course LGBTQ+ supportive marketing efforts, taking to social to encourage a boycott of the retailer. Target's reversal was not well received by LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, who believed the brand had failed to stand by and commit to diverse communities. Erik Carnell, a transgender designer whose products were pulled from Target's stores, accused the business of "rainbow capitalism" in an interview with Reuters. Lesson learned: Carnell, founder of brand Abprallen, added: "It's a very dangerous precedent to set, that if people just get riled up enough about the products that you're selling, you can completely distance yourself from the LGBT community when and if it's convenient." The lesson for brands here is similar to the one Mulvaney taught Bud: Live and breathe your brand values, which means if you've come out in support of LGBTQ+ communities, stick with that stance. "Businesses that are silent or are retreating at a time when anti-LGBTQ+ hatred, from statehouses to social media platforms, is at an all time high are abdicating their responsibility to stand by their values of diversity, equity and inclusion," said Kelley Robinson, president of the nonprofit Human Rights Campaign. Adweek Podcast: Real LGBTQ+ Allyship From Brands Matters Now, More than Ever "We’ve seen it again and again: Businesses that stand up for the values they espouse send a powerful message to their employees, shareholders and customers that equality is not up for debate," she aded. "Every time businesses stand up and speak out for LGBTQ+ equality, they come out on top, regardless of baseless, anti-business attacks." As brands start planning for 2024 Pride activations, that's certainly food for thought.

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The Biggest Brand Fails of 2023, and What They Taught Us

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Rebecca Stewart