With the presidential race heating up, it’s only natural that ads are sure to follow; and we’re not just talking about campaign commercials! June has seen the presence of ads for two companies expressing some apparently polarizing political views. Whether these brands and their marketing gurus meant to stir up some sentiment, both positive and negative, is unsure, but the result is still the same: people vowing to eat more Oreos or Denny’s and others calling for boycotts!
This Monday, Oreo posted a very symbolic-looking cookie on their Facebook page. Gone was the single layer of white crème bookended by two chocolate wafers; in its place stood six layers of colored filling, forming a rainbow. Underneath, there’s simply a date (June 25th) and a single word (pride). Considering the previous weekend saw many gay pride parades, people took it as a clear statement from Oreo (and their parent company Kraft). Their 26.9 million fans were split, some vowing to never eat Kraft again and some sharing supportive sentiments.
On the other end of the spectrum, Denny’s seems to be championing Americans’ second amendment right to bear arms. A family eating at Denny’s lists the reasons why America is so great. One of these reasons includes “our right to bear arms,” which, in turn, has some people up in arms over the validity of this statement. Just like Oreos’ pride pic, Denny’s fans have come out on either side of the debate.
Either way, both of these ads have people talking about the product…which is the point of advertising after all, isn’t it?