Editor’s Note: Kara Alaimo, an associate professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University, writes about issues affecting women and social media. Her book “Over the Influence: Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls — And How We Can Reclaim It” will be published by Alcove Press in 2024. The opinions expressed in this commentary are her own. Read more opinion on CNN.
CNN —
The Super Bowl comes at a time of major social and political turmoil. But you won’t get much sense of that from the ads and teasers that have been previewed so far. Staying out of the fray may allow brands to avoid controversy, but they’ll miss an opportunity to make memorable marks on our culture.
Kara Alaimo
Last year’s Super Bowl has been described as a “coming out party” for cryptocurrency, with celebrities like Larry David pitching it. Since then, crypto values have plummeted. So far this year, brands seem to not be sticking their necks out. In a Doritos ad, paparazzi bombard rapper Jack Harlow with questions about a love triangle. Budweiser’s spot is based on the theory that we’re all connected by six degrees of separation. Serena Williams takes up golf in an ad for Michelob Ultra.
The ads feel like an alternate universe to the country where the big game is being played. The death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, at the hands of Memphis police last month has shaken the nation. (Officers have been charged with murder.) So far this year, more than 150 bills have been proposed to restrict the rights of transgender people. And we’re headed into the 2024 presidential election with a major candidate — former president Donald Trump — who helped incite a deadly attack on the country’s capitol after the last election and still baselessly claims the 2020 election was stolen from him.
No wonder advertisers think we need some comic relief. But this isn’t likely to be a winning strategy for them. That’s because the kinds of brands that become iconic “address the collective anxieties and desires of a nation,” marketing expert Douglas Holt writes in “How Brands Become Icons.”
What has our country so divided right now is questions about diversity and inclusion. In his book “Why We’re Polarized,” political commentator Ezra Klein says the “core cleavage of our politics” is between people who embrace our country’s increasing diversity and people who reject it. But embracing it is just common sense from a business perspective: By around 2045, the majority of the US population won’t be White, Klein points out. Younger generations also identify as LGBTQ more than older Americans do. Brands should be getting out ahead of these trends with bold messages that help shape our culture.
One ad that may buck the trend of brands playing it safe this Super Bowl is M&M’S. The company recently claimed to be putting its spokescandies on “pause” after they got caught up in the culture wars. After the green started wearing sneakers instead of heeled boots last year, the company received a wave of criticism.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson proclaimed “M&M’s will not be satisfied until every last cartoon character is deeply unappealing and totally androgynous.” And after the company released packages of M&Ms in colors associated with women, outrage ensued on social media and right-wing news networks — a graphic used on a Fox show referred to the candy as “woke.”
The brand would be smart to stay woke. The actress Maya Rudolph will appear in a commercial during the game. Hopefully the ad sends a message about the value of diversity and inclusiveness.
Of course, it’s not that simple. Companies need to first walk the walk — by aligning their business practices and overall identity with an issue — before they can start running ads about it. That might mean taking public stances on issues — whether it’s speaking out against bills that would take rights away from transgender people or laws restricting voting rights that disproportionately affect people of color. Companies should also consider donating money to non-profit organizations that work on these issues.
Ads with political or social messages can easily backfire if they’re not viewed as authentic. Remember Pepsi’s widely condemned ad featuring Kendall Jenner and street protests back in 2017? The main reason it backfired was because Pepsi was seen as trying to capitalize on social problems rather than helping to resolve them.
Americans are only becoming more diverse and accepting of different gender and sexual identities. Advertisers that don’t register these changes may avoid backlash, but they won’t have the cultural impact that keeps us talking about them, either.
