Public relations is all about how people perceive a
person or a brand. As I have said in previous posts, it doesn’t matter how YOU
think your company is being portrayed, what matters is the way the PUBLIC perceives
your company. Sometimes the two perspectives don’t line up; such was the case
in a recent issue surrounding Ben & Jerry’s.
According to an article by PR Daily, Ben &
Jerry’s came under fire for the name of a new ice cream flavor. The new flavor
called “Hazed and Confused” was a name conceptualized by Ben & Jerry’s
marketing team as clever spin off of the phase “dazed and confused” because of
the ice cream’s hazelnut fudge core.
After six months on the market with no complaints, a
couple from Tampa, Florida spoke up about their disgust for the name. The
couple said the ice cream name was suggestive of fraternity hazing which sometimes
leads to humiliation or death of students. This same couple lost their
19-year-old son after a fraternity hazing incident resulted in a fatal head
injury.
Ben &
Jerry’s assessed its marketing concept and concluded the misinterpretation of
the name was an isolated case because of the couple’s past experiences and chose
not to change the name of the ice cream. However, Ben & Jerry’s released a
statement firmly establishing its stance on hazing saying the
company in no way supports or believes in such harmful practices.
The bottom line is Ben & Jerry’s had some
customers who perceived the name of the new ice cream flavor in a completely different
way than it intended. Ben & Jerry’s thought it was being clever and
relatable by playing off of a commonly used phase. However, due to past
experiences some customers associated the name with college hazing which
created a minor crisis for Ben & Jerry’s.
Lauren, thank you for sharing this. I hadn't heard about this incident, but I find it interesting that Ben & Jerry's gave very little consideration to changing the name. If one couple from Tampa, Florida found the ice cream name suggestive of fraternity hazing, then I think they should have considered the impact this might have on their brand perception in general. I guarantee the couple from Tampa was not the only complaint. Even if they were the only official complaint, I would not be surprised if many other potential customers were turned away by this suggestive ice cream name. I'm curious to see if this case intensifies in the future with more formal complaints. As for the couple from Tampa, I understand why they were disgusted with the name and I agree. Hazing is a serious situation and should not be present in any suggestive terms on the products of any company.
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