Kenneth Cole is packing his favourite pens after being enrolled in sensitivity school along with Groupon’s head of advertising. Let’s learn from them so we don’t have to join them. PR can go too far. There is a fine line (a very fine line) between genuinely linking your product or service with world affairs and making a link which isn’t there. It’s tasteless, and it won’t win you any fans.
Mr Cole would know. The fashion designer has apologised for his tasteless tweet where he tried to promote his new spring collection, using the unrest in Egypt as a springboard. "Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online"
He later apologised on twitter for his insensitive comments: "I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I've dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate.”
Cole is famous for being quick off the mark and has cleverly used world affairs to benefit his business before. After the Gulf oil spill last year he opened an online T–shirt store to raise money for the cleanup with shirt slogans lincluding "I Clean Up Well." After a plane landed safely on the Hudson River in 2009, he plastered a billboard with: "In tough times, some land on their feet (others on the Hudson)." He should have known better. But this is a textbook example of getting it very wrong.
Meanwhile a Groupon Super Bowl ad that makes light of Tibet’s political situation has offended viewers not only in China, but worldwide. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the thoughtless ad could stifle the company’s expansion plans.
These are both prime examples of PR being taken too far. The lesson here is that if the links are there, by all means connect them, but if they’re not you’re going to have to get creative and think of something else, or end up in this middle of a media furore like these two find themselves in today. PR is a balancing act - you need to get your message across but don't rely on connections that aren't there.
