What Do The Try Guys and Kopp's Custard Have in Common?

Answer: They were both recently involved in PR scandals.

This was an interesting week for brand responses.

Because of the work I do, I pay close attention to controversies in the media.

Depending on your age, your taste in YouTube videos, and where you live in the world, you may have heard of one, both, or neither of the stories I'm going to share with you. Both have quite a bit of a backstory, which I'll share in abridged versions below, but in a nutshell, I will be talking about what to do and what NOT to do when a controversy arises.

The Try Guys

The Incident

If you were a fan of Buzzfeed during their golden years, there's a good chance you also hopped aboard The Try Guys fandom. In 2018, the guys went solo and started their own independent studio. Their YouTube videos range from cooking content, ranking restaurants, DIY shows, and other things that are fun to try, either once or several times over.

Here's the big news - Ned Fulmer, one of The Try Guys, was caught in a cheating scandal that involved a coworker (and, presumably, a person who would report to him). News started to bubble up on Reddit that Ned was being edited out of newer videos, leading people to wonder what could be happening behind the scenes. For a full rundown of what happened, check out this great Twitter thread by @camitwomeyy.

Proof of Ned being edited out in videos - the wall pattern changes in the background

As soon as speculation hit a fever pitch, statements started coming out - first from The Try Guys account on September 27, then statements from Ned and his wife Ariel acknowledging the rumors and confirming suspicions.

We later found out that Ned was released from The Try Guys on September 16, and that news of this cheating originally made it to the rest of the team on Labor Day weekend.

How did we find all this out?

The Video

While there were photos circulating of the possible cheating itself, screenshots of edited photos, and plenty of theories, most of what we learned came from The Try Guys themselves.

The three other members - Zach, Eugene, and Keith - made a 5-minute video that they released on October 3 explaining what happened.

Here's what is great about the video:

• It lays out the exact sequence of events - What The Try Guys knew, when they knew it, when they started to take action, and what that action entailed
• It explained why, despite rumors starting to swirl, they had to wait to release something (because lawyers had to get involved)
• It made it clear that the situation was treated with zero tolerance
• It acknowledged all the news and messages that viewers might have seen instead of shying away from it (they also didn't discourage conversation on their own subreddit at any time)
• It wrapped up with a reminder that the internet can be a harsher environment for women than men, and a request to consider that before engaging in any speculation or commentary

Fans of The Try Guys, or people just swept up in the story, learned from the video that the other founding members had no idea anything was amiss until Labor Day weekend, that they took immediate action and spent 3 weeks consulting with lawyers, HR, PR, etc. to make sure they were taking the right steps and doing everything on the up-and-up.

They also stressed in the video that they would be sharing more as they were able, they didn't want to sweep anything under the rug, and that Ned was suspended immediately until he was officially removed on September 16. The Try Guys talked about not wanting to rush into any statement because of the real people involved, including the family at the center of the scandal.

While we don't yet know what to expect in the months or years to come, The Try Guys did address what to expect in the weeks and months to come in terms of footage that would or wouldn't be edited, and why.

All in all, I think the statement - the timing, delivery, and outlet - was carried out perfectly. There is no easy way to address a sticky situation, and The Try Guys should stand as a gold standard for how to handle tough topics.

Kopp's Custard

Now, this one hits a lot closer to home.

For those of you not in or from Southeastern Wisconsin, Kopp's is a custard joint that also serves up burgers and wildly nostalgic (at least for me) American cheese grilled cheese sandwiches, among other things. I used to go to Kopp's a few times a week in high school after theatre rehearsals - oh, the days before I knew I was lactose intolerant.

A place like Kopp's is just a staple. It's an institution. It's the kind of place parents take their kids and tell them what they used to order when they were their age.

I bet you're wondering, what could a custard place do to work people up in a frenzy?

It all started with the flavor forecast.

The Incident

I'm not going to get too in the weeds with this one, but here's one of the most abbreviated versions of the controversy that you'll find, from someone who followed it the entire day it unfolded:

In the morning, I was told by a friend that Kopp's had a flavor on their upcoming menu called "Hey Cupcake" aligning with "National Pro-Life Cupcake Day" on October 9.

Comments started to come in on their social media pages from concerned customers and fans, asking why they would use a day like that to promote a custard flavor.

Instead of addressing the problem head-on, Kopp's decided to remove the menu PDF from their website and didn't respond to a single question on their social media pages.

The Response to the Response

It wasn't until 2:44 p.m. that Kopp's had released a statement, but by that point, a lot of damage had already been done due to their silence on the matter:

Note: If you need the text version of the response above, scroll down for the resource at the end of this article

The Response to the Response

While I'm sure leadership at Kopp's felt this response would be adequate to smooth things over, the response to this response was...mixed at best.

Here are some of the major camps I saw in the comments:

• People who were mad at the situation and did not believe the apology was genuine
• People who believed the apology was genuine but wished there was more care and oversight in the matter
• People who believe Kopp's was caving to pressure and were mad about it
• People who forgave unconditionally and looked forward to the next visit
• People who were happy that there would be shorter lines
• People who didn't understand why people were getting mad because "it's just custard"

Here's what I think happened. Because there was so much silence for so long, customers were able to fill that silence with whatever reality they believed made the most sense, based on what they were seeing and hearing, as well as their own lived experience. Mind you, it may not feel like a long time - I was alerted to this menu in the morning, and about 6 hours later, there was a response. Let this be a lesson to you that a lot can happen in 6 hours.

While Kopp's did respond a lot faster than The Try Guys, for many people, the apology rang false. Maybe it was the lack of taking a side. Maybe it was because their follow-up action coming out of the situation was just that they would be paying more attention. Maybe it was because it didn't make sense to some people. The reception was wildly different depending on the person reading it.

Important Takeaways

Setting however you personally feel about this issue aside, I want to go through some important lessons you can take away from this incident, and why I feel the apology fell flat.

Content creation is my job. In fact, it is my biggest job. Kopp's used the National Day Calendar to find the holidays to include in their flavor forecast. I have used that calendar many, many times to find small, niche holidays to connect to content. I've used PB&J day to talk about how services go together "like peanut butter & jelly." I've used niche holiday weeks to remind people to brush up on their cybersecurity or get their books in order. I'm very familiar with the calendar they used.

Whether it was an accident is not something I'm going to address, but I will say this: If you are a content creator, it is your responsibility to thoroughly vet your sources and ensure whatever you incorporate into your content makes sense for your brand. These national holidays can be sponsored by any organization, and if you're not careful, you might end up endorsing something that creates an impression you don't want.

At the bare minimum, if this was a true mistake, it shows that someone was rushing, not thinking through their content before posting it, and that the review process is lacking. And, if that's the case, customers will want to know what specific steps you are taking to fill the gaps that are clearly in your system.

Because Kopp's relied so heavily on attributing their mistake to the calendar itself, it was an apology that didn't tell me much about their values as a company and what they'll do next to live those values. It just kind of gave me nothing to go on.

A great statement

I know a lot of PR professionals who can probably put this more eloquently than me, but to wrap up, here's what I think a great statement post-scandal needs to include:

• An unpolished presentation of exactly what happened
• Admitting fault / taking responsibility where it is called for
• An explanation of how / why something happened
• A more in-depth explanation of how it will be prevented from happening again
• Bonus: A remedy to make amends and heal any potential harm caused between the inciting incident and the response

Tell me - what do you think about these examples? What other examples have you seen of companies either doing the right thing or the wrong thing when responding? I can't wait to hear your stories!

Appendix

Here's the Kopp's response in full:

"To our loyal customers,

"Here at Kopp's Frozen Custard, we have prided ourselves in being a community staple for over the last 72 years. Our daily goal is to be a place where all customers can come to enjoy a treat or a burger and forget about the world for even just a moment. We understand that with our October 2022 flavor forecast brochure, we have severely missed that goal.

"Linking 'National Pro-Life Cupcake Day' with our long-running flavor 'Hey Cupcake,[sic] was an oversight on our part and an honest mistake. It was never our intention to get political and appear as though we have taken a side in this ongoing debate. We have removed this flavor from our flavor forecast for the day and have revised our list and website as well. Going forward, we strive to be more diligent in reviewing our flavor lists and any flavors we may link to a national holiday.

"We are sincerely sorry to all of our customers, loyal and new, whom we offended with our attempt to link a National Day with our Flavor of the Day offerings. We have always tried our best to keep politics and our staff's personal views out of the business and just focus on serving great food. It is still our number one priority as a business to welcome everyone who walks through our doors."