Marketing / Multichannel
Coles Loses Face on Twitter Over ‘Embarrassing’ TV Ad
- 12th January
- Campbell Phillips 154
After a recent spate of marketing and PR blunders becoming subject to ridicule through social media that has most businesses treading lightly, supermarket Coles puts its foot in it again.
When it comes to marketing fumbles, it seems like Australian supermarket giant Coles is after the crown.
The recent gaff follows a series of yawn-worthy advertising campaigns that heavily feature the butchering of classic pop songs like Status Quo’s ‘Down, down’. However this time they’ve convinced rocker Normie Rowe to make an appearance, combining talents with Curtis Stone in their rendition of ‘Shakin’ all over’.
The new version of the song features none of the actual lyrics. Instead, Coles have chosen the melody as the ideal vessel to carry their ‘no added hormones’ message.
What was intended as a playful advertisement has yielded something of a public outcry. The dizzying heights that cringe worthy marketing have reached is beginning to wear thin with some members of the public, and people have taken to Twitter to voice their complaints.
A selection of tweets spurred by Coles' embarrassing ad.
Since Sunday, several expletive-ridden hashtags have been trending on Twitter. Among the more vocal to take up the twittercry is Mark ‘Chopper’ Read, who has featured prominently in the online debate. Read has gone so far as to call for a boycott of the supermarket chain as a result.
Managing Director of Brand Intellect, Simon Rowell, said this particular advertising format is getting tired.
“They’ve gone down a direction with the advertising style and it is really running out of legs. It looks desperate,” Rowell told the Herald Sun.
63-year-old Rowe is somewhat surprised and hurt by the backlash, he told ninemsn.
“They were fairly corny lyrics I had to sing,” Rowe said. “But that’s what an actor is paid to do… I wouldn’t have written those lyrics myself.”
Whether the response to the ad actually translates to a setback for Coles is yet to be seen. However it serves as a clear warning for any business hoping to maintain their brand image online: don’t underestimate your audience. In the modern era of social networking, it doesn’t take long for a company’s reputation to get trashed from one end of the country to the other and beyond.
Just in case you haven’t had enough of this latest foible from Coles, a remix of the ad has recently appeared. It may even serve to take the edge off that cringe.
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7 Comments
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It is stuff likes this that makes me despair about the future of social media. WHO are these self-appointed judges of what is right/wrong or good/bad taste and why are they allowed to even have an opinion – never mind having their opinions heard?
Does one bad ad (and there are many worse) really constitute/ deserve a brand trashing?
There are way to many self-righteous a*holes who can take pot shots at any one at any time.
(I apologies if this reads like a rant on your fine blog, but these people who jump on every bandwagon gets my goat.)
Hi Dennis,
Thank you for your interest in Power Retail!
Please, you have no need to apologise, we value all opinions on relevant subjects.
We have so far witnessed how fast the social media landscape is changing, and no doubt it will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. While I agree with you essentially, I also believe that the true benefit of social media platforms is that users have the total freedom to express their opinions, while giving others’ opinions as much, or as little, recognition as they like.
At the end of the day, I wonder whether the Coles brand is negatively affected by the Twitter outcry? Would other retailers suffer in the same scenario?
Dennis – sorry, I didn’t realise we lived in North Korea, where people aren’t allowed to have an opinion or voice it with other like minded people on a social network! What planet are you from mate?
Twitter is a platform where people get together and chat about topics & life in general. No different from having a chat to a stranger at a pub? These people AREN’T self appointed judges nor are they asking for their online chats to be made public, so you are absolutely barking up the wrong tree here buddy. They are merely making their thoughts known to others….others who happen to agree.
If Coles value their brand – they will probably take note of the public backlash & do something about it!
Now you can climb back under that rock you came out of!
Whaaaat!!?
This Coles campaign is a complete failure. You can tell by all the commentary & discussion it generates.
Massive fail for both Coles and Normie Rowe. Now this will be mentioned in his obituary!
Do they have to keep butchering songs? Surely they can come up with their own cringeworthy jingles and not have to pay royalties?
Surely the real test of whether this is a success or not is a) customer awareness of the message and b) whether it drives more sales? I think that is the objective of marketing?