Brands and The Slap

How ‘The Slap’ could affect the brand reputation of the various players

There is an adage in marketing that no publicity is bad. Even negative publicity helps to keep the brand salient. At least for those in the entertainment business.  Many a marketing and PR guru will publicly disagree but privately nod at it. We know that bans and controversies sell more tickets, more books and get more eyeballs. So, you could argue that all this hullaballoo is really all good for Will Smith, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett, The Academy Awards and Pfizer (yes, the pharma people, we will come to that in a bit).

In these modern times, the adage may need a little nuancing. We are in an era where it is no longer enough to keep your personal beliefs personal. What you stand for and believe in impacts your personal brand a lot more than it did before the days of social media and hyperconnectivity. Particularly if you are a celebrity.  Think Meryl Streep and her calling out of Trump’s mocking of a disabled reporter. More recently Neil Young and his row with Spotify on vaccine misinformation caused an exodus from the platform and I suspect people started hearing his music again. The Slap though would have different outcomes for the different actors. The consequences will be felt long after the headlines have moved on.

The Slapper

Will Smith is possibly the biggest ‘Black’ movie star currently. His appeal though, is wider than that. He is seen as a modern family man, practicing an open marriage but also a role model parent for many. Will Smith has played the role of a sensitive person with aplomb. Simultaneously, he has been a man of action. It is the composite and an amalgamation of the opposites that lies at the core of Will’s brand identity. It is probably why he has a wide appeal.

This act of reacting violently in front of a global audience to a joke (albeit in poor taste) about his wife plays out very strongly to one side of him – the emotional, action oriented avenging hero, out to protect his wife. It had immediate appeal with a part of his audience. However, it does destroy the sense of balance of opposites that is so central to his brand. His subsequent apologies have done nothing to change that. It has also taken away from the remarkable achievement of winning the Oscar. Will Smith’s brand standing has eroded, and he will continue to wear The Slap as an albatross around his neck.

Over the longer term, The Slap could strengthen some deeply held negative beliefs about race.

The Slapped

Chris Rock is to Will Smith what Arshad Warsi is to Akshay Kumar. Will is the mega star and Chris a minor one. Chris is the intelligent, wisecracking, funny, fast speaking guy. ‘Black’ is very much a part of his core identity. He has a career as a stand up and draws large crowds for his acts. Getting away by insulting the audience is a core ingredient of a stand-up comedy act. The audience expects him to be outrageous at times.

In this case, getting slapped makes him a victim rather than an offender. His actions are not incongruous with Chris the brand. His apology is also par for the course for comedians. Chris will probably draw bigger audiences and can wear The Slap as a badge. His brand standing has possibly received a boost, bigger than what being an Oscar MC got him.

Over the longer term, political correctness will draw even more rigid lines around what is acceptable.

The Subject of The Slap

Jada Pinkett Smith is an actor, musician, producer, entrepreneur, wife and independent woman, all in one. She is admired for her multifaceted talent and for being so much more than just an actor or wife of a mega star. Jada is seen as a person with a voice and agency. She does not come across as a person who needs defending. Though some questions have been raised since the video of her reacting to the incident have been going around.

Jada has maintained her poise and her statements have been unreproachable. Jada could have but has not played victim. Her actions have been largely in consonance with her brand image. Her brand standing has probably gone up and she emerges as a winner.

Where The Slap was delivered

The Academy has been working to respond to criticism of their values for a few years now. They have often been accused of being racist, big money less art, and big banner centric. The Academy has also reflected, through the cinema that wins, the mood of the US (sometimes the world). The award ceremonies have always defined standards in presentation and content. It is a global institution and a market driver.

This year’s Oscars were supposed to reflect how the Academy is more aligned to a world that respects and recognizes diversity and inclusion. Never has there been such a combination of winners – an LGBT actress, woman director, actor with disability, black actor. This was going to help strengthen the brand. That message has got lost. Instead, even though eyeballs have gone up what is remembered is The Slap and the awkward handling of it. The lack of a firm, value based response, has stripped some more gloss off the Academy. They have weathered worse before and may well escape without too much damage. However, the ride to change has slowed down.

The Gob Smacked

They happened to sponsor the awards. They also happen to be a pharma giant. Pfizer were the right company at the right time the last 2 years, with their high quality Covid vaccine. They have been much sought after by the world and the stock market.

Conspiracy theories, which always surface with events like The Slap, are spinning around the world at warp speed about how this is a gimmick by Pfizer. Apparently to launch their alopecia drug! If this were marketing, it would be the strategy of some who were using something (and not Pfizer’s drugs) when they thought of it.  We know how fake news flies and finds believers. This must be a scenario that no one at Pfizer would have thought of when they were sponsoring the awards! Yesterday’s world hero’s crisis teams are currently scrambling, working at damage control. Pfizer is a current loser in brand standings.

In the long term, organisations will think even harder about what can go wrong before committing money to the arts. Brand reputations are fragile things, needs great care to build and even more to maintain.