Is Bad Press Really Better Than No Press?

There’s an old saying that any press is better than no press at all. But is this really the case? Especially in the 24/7/365 digital World we now live in, does this old saying still reign true? And, did it ever at all?

The premise of this adage is that as long as your name or business's name is in the news, then it’s a good thing. Exposure to a wider audience is always best. Right?

When you’re in the news, your name or brand’s name is top of mind with consumers. So that has to be good, wouldn’t you say? To a certain extent, perhaps. But let’s look at the whole picture with this “Any Press is Good Press.”

Is all this press associated with your name or brand’s name really the type of press you want? Or, is it really making you out to be a punchline for a joke at the next cocktail party? What are you really gaining with this so-called press? Top of mind thinking with consumers, or internet infamy that lasts about as long as the lifespan of a tweet.

Let’s look at some real World examples of this.

We’ve all seen the infamous videos of some drunk guy being pulled over on a lawn mower by the police on YouTube. Yes. It’s funny as all get out and we all laughed at it. No shame here admitting that.

However, do you remember the type of lawn mower he was riding? No?

John Deere might.

Back in 2017, police in Manitoba pulled over an impaired driver cruising down the street on his lawn mower (his John Deere mower) to get cigarettes from a nearby gas station. Now it may not seem like much to you and I, but to John Deere, that could’ve been much worse than it was.

Nothing really became of it, most likely to do with nothing major happening or that no one was injured in this now infamous video. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t press tying the fact that it indeed was a John Deere lawn mower.

There were tweets paraphrasing their slogan, “Nothing Runs like a Deere.” Everything from, “Nothing drinks like a Deere”, “Not even a Deere can outrun the police.” So on and so on. So for a time there was some backlash, however small, towards John Deere.

Did it pass? Of course it did as the lifespan of content like that on the Internet and social media really isn’t all that long. Well, not until the next person does something dumber than the previous.

Now let’s look at something a bit more recent that the company DID receive quite a bit of bad press for—The now infamous Paleton Ad.

In late 2019 when every major brand is peppering your televisions and social media feeds with ads for their products around the holidays, Paleton dropped an ad about a husband surprising his wife with one of their exercise bikes.

A seemingly harmless ad that showed what would appear to be their small child leading the mother into the living room on Christmas morning. A site that is obviously very relatable to people.

She then opens her eyes to the Paleton exercise bike. Now she does seem a bit surprised with this gift, but the ad goes on to show her enjoying the exercise bike and even stating that, “I had no idea how much this would change me,” in her video diary during the commercial.

The ad however faced a massive amount of ridicule from the online community. And guess where people turned to first? Social media!

Tweets ranging anywhere from, “Umm what was that Paleton?” to “I am one of those weirdos who got a Peloton for Christmas (long story) from my husband and I love it. I HATE THIS AD SO MUCH IT HURTS. Just wanted to make that clear. I'm exactly the target demo & I agree w/you all that this is the beginning of a Black Mirror episode.”

One tweet from Renee Klahr even went as far as to say, “We all need to treasure the things that bring us together as a nation, as a people. Collectively hating on this Peloton ad is that thing.”

Those are some pretty strong words and what I would consider Bad Press for their brand. So, was it “good press?”

In an email Peloton received and shared with The New York Times, someone describing herself as a 60-year-old woman named Tami said the commercial had inspired her.

“I can relate to her being surprised she did it for a year,” she wrote. “Bad health comes in all shapes and sizes. Glad you acknowledged that EVERYONE needs to be healthy regardless of how you look.”

However, even the positive responses may have been a little too late for the now viral commercial to keep up with on social media.

Many comedians and even other brands had begun to spit out parodies of the ad and the bad press kept coming for Paleton. Their stock actually fell nearly 9-percent the day after online outrage about the ad came to a head.

Not backing down from their ad, Paleton issued a statement after the backlash really started to gain momentum.

A company representative said, “We constantly hear from our members how their lives have been meaningfully and positively impacted after purchasing or being gifted a Peloton Bike or Tread, often in ways that surprise them,” a company representative said in a statement Wednesday.

“Our holiday spot was created to celebrate that fitness and wellness journey,” the statement said. “While we’re disappointed in how some have misinterpreted this commercial, we are encouraged by — and grateful for — the outpouring of support we’ve received from those who understand what we were trying to communicate.”

So, was all this bad press really good press for Paleton?

Well one thing is for sure, everyone certainly heard the name Paleton a LOT at the biggest shopping and money spending time of the year, Christmas. That’s seemingly never a bad thing.

Their brand was on the mouth of everyone that cared to ring in an opinion over the ad. So their brand was top of mind for even a short while. It may have been bad in-the-moment, but feelings change, fads and viral posts fade with time or when the next one hits social media.

Yes. They received a lot of backlash over this ad. But at the same time, even when parodies came out and people seemingly constantly bashing them on social media for their ad, the “bad press” was in a way good press for Paleton.

Now I’m not saying your brand needs to go out and spend money to produce some sort of ad like they did. Far from it.?Most small businesses could not afford to produce something like this, nor are they equipped to handle any sort of backlash of this magnitude.

All I’m saying is that perhaps, yes. Bad press may be better than no press at all. But you have to be prepared for what may or may not come from it.

And, are you willing to lose any of the Social Currency you have spent time building with your audience?

Thanks for reading! If you found this article helpful, please consider sharing it with a friend!