A world of difficult decisions

The mighty Mars and Heinz corporations have both found themselves at the mercy of the crowd in recent weeks.  The stories have been covered extensively in the marketing press – Mars was forced by gay rights activists in the US to pull a UK ad for Snickers featuring Mr. T telling a speed-walker to “run like a real man.”  And in a bizarre parallel world, another UK ad, this time from from Heinz, featuring a gay kiss, was apparently forced off air, following pressure from the American Family Association.

We would love to have included both of these examples in Crowd Surfing as they provide yet more evidence of the power and influence of activist groups and their ability to influence the behaviour of even the most powerful corporations.  Sitting in the UK marketing departments of Mars and Heinz the world must feel like it is out of control.

Were Mars and Heinz correct to give in to the demands of these particular crowds … crowds, we should remind ourselves, that were not even based in the country in which the offending ads appeared?  There is no simple answer.  It is a difficult decision to ignore public criticism.  Equally, companies will drive themselves mad (and quite possibly bankrupt) if they try to keep everyone happy.  Ultimately both Mars and Heinz decided that they were not prepared to go into battle in defence of these particular advertising campaigns.  A cynic might argue that their decisions were made easier by the fact that the publicity generated by the activists had already helped them achieve their campaign objectives in terms of awareness.

This is the new world of crowd surfing … a world of challanging questions and difficult decisions.  Do you change the way you operate in response to the demands of a particular crowd?   What happens if you ignore them?  When should you be prepared to make a stand?  Do you have the backing of senior management if it all goes pear-shaped?  Which other crowds are likely to be affected by your decision?

These aren’t the sort of questions that an MBA can really prepare you for, which is why crowd surfing is such a tricky skill to master.  There are no right or wrong answers … no textbooks to guide you … no formulas for success.  Some find this bewildering and somewhat depressing … the crowd surfer finds it exciting.