Gushers wouldn’t be Gushers without the Black community and your voices. We’re working with @fruitbythefoot on creating space to amplify that. We see you. We stand with you.
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Food Brands Tweet #BlackLivesMatter, but What’s Behind the Words?
We remind our clients that apologies must be real, honest and authentic. We remind our clients that “spinning” is “lying.” And we remind our clients that if you’re going to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk.
From this week’s New York Times, an insightful piece by Tejal Rao…
It (seems) that, to most food companies, the national protests against police brutality and racism were a chance to both express solidarity and build their brands. Most food brands issuing statements seem to follow the same set of unspoken rules: Never commit to any action; and never, under any circumstances, examine your own internal systems and policies or how they might affect your workers. Instead, corporations publish branded tweets that reveal a familiarity with graphic design and the language of protest. Instead, with great financial resources and the potential to bring about lasting, meaningful change, they work on their image.
Last week, Gushers and Fruit by the Foot, two fruit candies from the 1990s, now manufactured by General Mills, joined forces on Twitter to announce a deep commitment to … something.
“Gushers wouldn’t be Gushers without the Black community and your voices,” the brand’s tweet read. “We’re working with @fruitbythefoot on creating space to amplify that. We see you. We stand with you.”
I laughed because I needed to laugh. Because the squishy, tongue-staining candy I first encountered in middle school was now swearing allyship on Twitter. And because even after reading the tweet several times, I couldn’t make sense of it.
We see you? What, exactly, were the communication strategists at Gushers and Fruit by the Foot trying to say?
Since the killing of George Floyd last month in Minneapolis, hundreds of thousands of protesters have marched in communities across the country, and hundreds of marketing teams have shared optimistic statements on social media that signal support.
Popeye’s Chicken stated that the company would use its “platform” to “support this movement.” Wendy’s claimed that its “voice would be nothing without Black culture” and promised to “amplify Black voices” on Twitter. And Burger King adapted its slogan in a tweet that read, “when it comes to people’s lives, there’s only one way to have it. without discrimination.”
It seemed that, to most food companies, the national protests against police brutality and racism were a chance to both express solidarity and build their brands.
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