Brands and Black Lives Matter: No More Business as Usual

Anyone who follows me across social media will likely agree that I’m not very ‘good’ at it. I’m a firm believer that it can be a space for positivity, but I know myself well enough by now to know that a life lived out on Instagram stories isn’t constructive for good mental health - at least not for me. Anyway, after writing social posts and campaigns for clients every day you wouldn’t be very arsed with social media post 6pm either.

That being said, since lockdown I’ve leaned into social media. A lot (you don’t need a BA in psychology to guess that I’m replacing my usual community with an online version). It was nice, for a bit, but I’m glad I was fully tuned in for what was to come next. On May 25th, 46-year-old George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, over the alleged use of a counterfeit bill. What followed was unprecedented (yes, we can use the word unprecedented without referring to Covid, who knew). Protests swept throughout the US, and the rest of the world, in response to this injustice, the final straw in a long line of injustices that came before. On and offline, millions of people showed their support to the international human rights Black Lives Matter movement.

Weeks later, as the calls for justice and equality still show no sign of slowing down, it’s clear that this is a response unlike anything we’ve seen in our lives, though at the time I’m sure many of us thought it was another wave of woke-ism that would soon disappear. After all, the internet has a habit of giving a subject seemingly unstoppable support only to discard it for the next big story. Remember Harambe? RIP.

That was certainly my outlook. I’ve seen one too many fads and not enough results come from social media to have any real belief in its power for systemic change. Beyond whether I should or shouldn’t speak about BLM, I wrestled with what I as a privileged white guy, far away from the gunshots of America, could even say on the matter. What do I know about prejudice? How dare I speak up about a problem I will never experience and can’t begin to understand?

I’d like to say now that my mindset was absolutely not OK. This is not a black problem, it’s a problem for black people created by generations of ingrained racism, conscious or otherwise, from white people. I shouldn’t see racism as an American issue, because it’s alive and well all around me. It’s not enough to not be racist, I’ve learned, it’s my human duty to become anti-racist. Of course I should speak up, and not stop speaking, about the need for racial equality, because if everybody remains silent change will never come.

I’ve learned this, and will continue to do so, thanks to the unwavering commitment to the conversation from those I follow on social media. Most of these are like-minded friends, or forward-thinking influencers who have been quick to understand the importance in using their reach to champion the BLM movement. Good people are doing good things to incite positive change. So why are so many brands choosing not to?

Rightly or wrongly, celebrities have long been praised or chastised for embracing or neglecting their role model status. Regardless of where you fall on the age old debate, surely we can agree that if a single person can be held accountable for how they use their platforms, brands comprising tens to hundreds to thousands of employees should come under the same scrutiny.

We are, all of us, whether we like to admit it or not, influenced every single day by advertisements, be it online, on TV, or a physical billboard or a newspaper spread (newspapers are kind of like big printed Twitter timelines, for anyone under the age of 25). Brands have a hell of a hold over us and it’s their humane duty to use their platform for good. Thankfully we now hold them to a much higher standard than ever before (shout out to my millennial brothers and sisters) as consumers criticise businesses who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk when it comes to hiring, ad campaigns, and business-wide practices. Failing to do so, or citing inauthentic views with no actions behind them, can mean boycotts to a brand, and a serious blow to the bank.

Marketing strategist Toby Ralph recently talked about the role of the brand amidst BLM and other movements, stating that, essentially, it’s none of their business. "The job of dishwashing liquid is to clean your plates, not hector you on civil disobedience," he said "It's a preposterous view, that brands should hold political views and express them. Brands are not people." 

“Brands are not people,” they’re just the combined faces of tens, hundreds, or thousands of people. Teams with a far greater budget or reach than most charities. Using Ralph’s logic, I say that if the few forthright people I follow can wake me up to the work I and we all need to be doing, then a brand, a team of hundreds, could rapidly speed up that process for the masses. I agree that brands shouldn’t push political views on their followers, but as far as I can see there is nothing political about whether or not black people should be killed in the streets for offences white people may get no more than a slap on the wrist for. But hey, you do you, Ralph.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware that a brand’s response to moments like #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo are often more of a business decision than a moral one. They understand the social currency of how they handle these things and the good standing it will put them in with their customers. Just like they react to seasonal market and consumer trends, most brands will, on some level, be mindful of how they come out of all this and the impact that will have on sales. Sadly, that’s just business. But if a brand puts its money where its mouth is, makes the right internal changes and does its best to create external changes, then I say shut up and take my money. If a win-win incites them to act, let’s all be winners.

Brands and #BLM: The good, the bad and the ugly

The most deceitful piggy-backing of the Black Lives Movement I’ve seen in recent weeks came from L’Oreal Paris. So painfully unaware of its own recent history, the brand posted its support to the movement before quickly and ferociously being reminded of its firing of model Munroe Bergdorf just three years ago for speaking out against racism. In a quick bid to avoid further backlash, L’Oreal Paris appointed Munro Bergdorf as a member of its new diversity board. It’s a bittersweet result: change was ultimately achieved, but many were left with a sour taste. What happened to the L’Oreal Paris that, almost half a century ago, championed the feminist revolution with its now famous slogan?

A similar situation played out for The San Francisco 49ers, who displayed their solidarity with a single black square on their social accounts and little else. Seen to be doing the right thing with no action behind it is one thing, but to do so just four years after allowing then quarterback Colin Kaepernick to be shunned and forced out of the NFL for taking a knee during the national anthem, in protest of police brutality against black people? Not cool guys.

Thankfully another brand did far better by Kaepernick and his views; following the infamous kneel, Nike partnered with the ex-NFL star for an ongoing campaign. Initially this resulted in backlash among fans and threats of boycotts against Nike, and would be considered to be a risky move. Whether a calculated business risk or a genuine stance (likely a bit of both), Nike and Kaepernick ultimately won the day, making a record number of sales on merchandise from their collaboration.

Of course not every business has quite the same powerhouse behind it as Nike, who, had the Kaepernick move blown up in their face, would survive a financial blow or two. For businesses of all sizes, regardless of the finances available to them, being an ally simply comes down to being anti-racist, even if it means losing a few customers along the way a-la Yorkshire Tea.

Now isn’t the time for brands, and the businesses behind them, to deliberate, or try to keep favour with consumers on both sides of the debate. Now’s the time for them to decide how history remembers them. Now is the time for them to encourage their followers to seek out education, to sit with their prejudices - conscious or otherwise - and to keep the conversation going. A black square and a hashtag won’t resolve them - or us - of our collective responsibility moving forward.