Procter & Gamble takes calculated risk with its ‘The Talk’ ad about racial bias
It’s a simple message: Beware of racism in the United States.
But Procter & Gamble took a calculated risk with its ad that features black mothers speaking to children about racial bias through the decades. The company says it knew there might be a backlash — and the ad has been criticized as being anti-police or anti-white. But it says it felt after hearing from consumers that the ad would be worth it.
“The Talk,” which makes no mention of any P&G product, has been the talk of social media.
The ad is part of a shift by some corporations that are making emotional appeals to consumers by treading into territory that could be polarizing. But experts say there may be more of these ads, as they seek younger customers who respond to them.
“Brands just can’t push their messages out there,” said Luis Garcia, president of MarketVision, a San Antonio-based marketing firm. “They have to create meaningful ways that are going to engage people.”
What matters
Consumers have so many choices among so many brands, Garcia said, that people remember only what matters to them.
In the P&G video released online last month, a mom in the 1950s tells her daughter she is not just “pretty for a black girl,” as someone told the girl, but “beautiful, period.” And a mom in the 1960s tells her son he may hear an epithet, but not to let it hurt him. Another mom, in the 1990s, reminds her son to take his ID with him as he sets off for practice.
None of the company’s products, like Pampers diapers, Tide detergent or Crest toothpaste, are shown. Instead, after clips of mothers giving children “the talk,” the video invites people to discuss it online with the hashtag #TalkAboutBias.
The ad is scheduled to begin airing on national television next week.
Damon Jones, a spokesman for Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble, said not including products in “The Talk” was a conscious decision because the company wanted viewers to focus on its message. “There’s a time for product placement,” Jones said. “There’s a time to do something broader.”
Other companies
Procter & Gamble isn’t the first company to try to tackle difficult topics. Earlier this year, Nike unveiled its “Equality Has No Boundaries” commercial featuring well-known athletes. And AnheuserBusch released a Super Bowl ad that focused on its founder’s immigrant past.
Such ads often draw criticism, not only from those who oppose the social message but also sometimes from people it’s trying to appeal to.
Pepsi was reproached early this year over a video that took images from Black Lives Matter protests and ended with Kendall Jenner, a white woman, giving a police officer a can of Pepsi. Critics said the commercial trivialized the issue of black residents’ interaction with police.
And two years ago, Starbucks launched a “Race Together” campaign aimed at getting customers to talk about race, only to soon end it after critics claimed it was poorly executed and a marketing ploy.
Robert Passikoff, president of the customer research firm Brand Keys in New York, wondered how Procter & Gamble shareholders, even those who agree with the ad’s message, might respond.
“I’m the last of the Mad Men era,” Passikoff said. “I believe companies are not there for social change. They are there to sell products.”