Take a stand -- and stick to it

BLESS the Americans — when they discover a new thing, they embrace it with the zeal of a former smoker who has discovered the simple pleasure of being able to breathe wheeze-free in the morning.

Almost 10 years after South Africa decreed gay marriage legal, same-sex couples in the US now have that right, and it’s opened the advertising floodgates in a rainbow of support for the decision. It might still have some folks in the deep South’s Bible belt muttering their disapproval and stockpiling tins of food for the coming apocalypse, but what is done is done.

Brands in the US, undeterred by any potential backlash, have jumped on the bandwagon and, in a collective display of creativity, have outdone themselves in their support.

The challenge, says Jonathan Deeb, executive creative director at ad agency FCB, is for these gay-supporting brands to be constant in their support — and not to turn tail at the first sign of controversy.

He’s completely on point: emphatic public support of an issue, whether it be gay marriage, xenophobic attacks or the mass killing of dolphins, can’t be abandoned on the altar of commercial expediency. And the tide can turn very quickly.

On many occasions, brands in South Africa have taken a strong position on an issue, but then been shocked by the backlash. Remember FNB’s possibly misguided foray into nation-building in 2013, when it created a number of videos of earnest schoolchildren reading out their hopes for the country? Heartfelt and well-meaning as it was, the ANC went ballistic, and the bank was forced to withdraw the campaign. Business trumped altruism.

So if you’re going to do issue-based advertising, expect the worst and have a

The best execution of the theme was Mexican fast-food chain Chipotle, which asked: ‘¿Homo estas?’

strategy to deal with the fallout.

But as US brands bask in a pink glow of self-congratulatory brand alignment, it’s worth acknowledging the clever and tactical work. Smirnoff vodka showed pairs of glasses next to each other with straws appearing to hold hands.

Rival Absolut, which in fairness has supported gay marriage in advertising since 1989, shaded its iconic bottle in rainbow hues; Oreo biscuits produced a rainbow filling; and Ben & Jerry’s renamed its chocolate chip cookie-dough ice cream “I dough, I dough.” Uber got into the act by putting a rainbow colour on the moving cars in its smartphone app-map.

The question, of course, is why have US companies fallen over themselves on this issue. And the answer is: given the increasing support for gay marriage in the US, companies probably risked more financial harm if they stayed silent, even if the conservative lobby threatened to take its business elsewhere.

Probably the best execution of the theme, though, was the Mexican fast-food chain Chipotle, which asked: “¿Homo estas? Very well thank you. #Lovewins.”

Maggs is a broadcaster and writer and edits the marketing website theredzone.co.za