“Man on the street” marketing tactics often elicit positive customer referrals, which can entice new clientele.
Unless, however, a customer goes off the rails.
This was the result of Sprint’s “Listening Tour,” led by the company’s chief exec, Marcelo Claure. After traveling around the country to ask consumers their opinions about various mobile carriers, some of those sessions are being released on YouTube.
One video—released Tuesday—was called “controversial” by Twitter users and was later taken down by Sprint’s PR team after an outcry of online negativity.
In the video, a consumer refers to rival mobile carrier T-Mobile as “ghetto,” to which Claure nods:
Its caption read: “Sometimes the truth hurts,” and was followed by a tweet by Claure stating, “Not meant to offend anyone,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
It didn’t take long for the comments to pour in on Twitter, and they cast a negative light on the brand—and on its brand manager’s decision to post the promo:
Wildly offensive @sprint video, especially considering the spokespeople of color that @TMobile has featured recently https://t.co/NAGLRye7ph
— Pete (@PeteClickClick) April 13, 2016
Sprint ad uses the word “ghetto” & we’re wondering who approved it & why they aren’t woke… https://t.co/DZtehH4n8d http://pic.twitter.com/Bsg8s34M1Y
— Look Different (@LookDifferent) April 13, 2016
The Sprint ad where they called T Mobile customers ghetto is where I’d like to direct my outrage today.
— Nerd Ferguson (@fergnerduson) April 13, 2016
How has Sprint not pulled this video yet? https://t.co/wKNjKMpIWy
— Dieter Bohn (@backlon) April 13, 2016
Claure took note of the negative feedback, but he stood his ground on the marketing tactic of using real customers:
We’re sharing real comments from real customers. Maybe not the best choice of words by the customer. Not meant to offend anyone.
— MarceloClaure (@marceloclaure) April 13, 2016
After a slew of requests for the ad to be taken down, Claure obliged, adding an apology:
My job is to listen to consumers. Our point was to share customer views. Bad judgment on our part. Apologies. Taking the video down.
— MarceloClaure (@marceloclaure) April 13, 2016
Mic.com reported that the racial discussion continued—and was taken to a personal level—when a user called the ad “disrespectful to all of us low-middle class Latinos.” To that, Claure responded: “That I won’t take. I am as Latino as you are, so don’t try to pull that card.”
Although having an open dialogue with consumers is important for brand managers, Tuesday’s outcome—and the culmination of Sprint’s #ListeningTour—probably wasn’t what its marketers had in mind.
RELATED: Keep your cool in a crisis with these 13 tips.
Here’s more from WSJ on the ad’s relation to today’s debate-driven social media climate:
Sprint’s ad lands in an ever-growing graveyard of ads that have come under fire on social media for being racist or sexist and sometimes both at once. Just last week, Gap pulled an ad featuring a young white girl resting her arm on the head on a young black girl and leaning on her. A debate raged on Twitter over the ad until Gap apologized in a statement.
For big-name brands such as Sprint and Gap, controversy online usually means issuing a fast apology and working on moving forward to regain public trust. The lasting impression of Tuesday’s botched video release remains to be seen.
For its part, T-Mobile has kept mum about the matter on its Twitter and Facebook feeds.
What do you think of Claure’s interaction with customers online, PR Daily readers? Did he go too far in defending the brand’s marketing campaign?
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