A Cautionary Tale

Amidst everything else that’s going on in the world, there was a brief breakaway story regarding a well-intentioned albeit ill-conceived Pepsi ad featuring Kendall Jenner, a protest march, police, and the finding of common ground in sharing a Pepsi. There was significant investment in that ad – maybe someone’s career and it took less than a day to be lambasted on Twitter and in the media, then pulled. I’m reminded of Hans Christian Anderson’s story The Emperor’s New Clothes. Spoiler alert: “He isn’t wearing anything at all.”

The ad was discussed on Good Morning America. Entertainment expert and industry commentator Larry Hackett offered the following insight which while I’m quoting is not verbatim.

. . . You can imagine the meeting . . . let’s get relevant, so they (Pepsi) went back to their focus group interviews . . . bar graphs of various metrics of what young people want and said OK they are more tolerant of different races and are more socially active, they like protests, they like celebrity they like the Kardashians and Kendall Jenner. Those ingredients all sound fine together, like pepperoni, and SNICKERS? and grapes. You put that all in a pot and it does not taste very good and that’s what you have here....A cautionary tale for a lot of other marketers.

And a cautionary tale for those of us looking to attract and retain the best possible talent. In the case of recruitment, the time, money and credibility required are typically hard earned given competing priorities and stakeholders as well as and integrations, complexities, and interdependencies of its many components.  

What did I leave out? 

Each of these could consume its own initiative and each initiative could be wonderful pepperoni, SNICKERS?, or grapes, but what is their impact and how do they taste collectively? Before going to focus groups and bar graphs, get intentional about what matters in perception (brand), process, promptness, and people. 

There are trade-offs to consider and it’s likely that everyone won’t be happy. You know what they say about people being upset. Pepsi recognized this at initially defended their ad with an explanation, but had to relent then apologize. As the war for talent intensifies so does the pressure to be more relevant to candidates and more impactful to the organization. Don’t let pressure force expensive, questionable, or embarrassing decisions with unexpected consequences. Life has enough surprises without creating them. Be deliberate and engage diverse perspectives including at least one with the courage to tell the emperor he has no clothes. Be intentional. Be not naked.