.svg)
The digital tsunami that engulfed the CEO of tech firm Astronomer and his HR chief after a “kiss cam” moment at a Coldplay concert is still going strong.
The moment that was broadcast to a stadium and then, within hours, to the world, became “ColdplayGate”, a trending hashtag, a source of endless memes, and a brutal public spectacle.
But the fallout wasn’t just limited to the two caught on camera. There were families – spouses and children – blindsided as well.
In the marketing and communications profession, these viral moments present a critical test. In the relentless race for relevance, presence and “share of voice”, the temptation to “newsjack” a trending topic is immense. It promises clicks, reach and a fleeting taste of being part of the global conversation.
Many brands in the West couldn’t resist quips and memes, tying their products to the drama almost immediately. European low-cost airline Ryanair, reposted the viral video with the caption, “Ryanair (handshake emoji) Coldplay, splitting up couples”.
Similarly, fast-food chain Chipotle reportedly posted a now-deleted tweet playing on the theme of infidelity to promote a new menu item, using a billboard that read, “It’s okay to cheat on your Chipotle order if it’s with Chipotle Honey Chicken.” Netflix got on the bandwagon too with its meme on X.
Yet, amid this frenzy, the notable restraint from most major brands in Asia were revealing. One hopes this signals not just careful risk aversion, but empathy for what is, at its heart, a family’s private matter.
As public relations professionals, we must champion this restraint. The most powerful statement a brand can make in the face of personal ruin is compassionate silence.
By refusing to turn a person’s professional or personal low point into a crass marketing opportunity, brands demonstrate respect and decency, proving that the most profound statement is sometimes no statement at all.
ColdplayGate is a textbook case. Careers have been destroyed, a company has been thrown into turmoil, and, most importantly, families have been devastated. Can anyone imagine the pain of a spouse or a child seeing their family’s darkest moment turned into a punchline by a fast-food chain or a clothing brand?
When personal ruin becomes meme fodder, it must be a no-go zone for any company with a conscience. It’s one thing for anonymous accounts and the general public to drive the narrative with memes and ridicule. It is another thing entirely for a corporation, a public-facing entity with a duty of care, to pour fuel on that fire for commercial gain.
Companies or brands are not faceless trolls; they have character, voice, and a responsibility towards the public. Leveraging someone’s personal troubles to stand out on social media is a grotesque abuse of that position.
Unfortunately, this is not a new phenomenon. The history of marketing is littered with infamous examples of brands making ethical miscalculations.
In 2014, DiGiorno Pizza carelessly used #WhyIStayed, a hashtag that was being used by survivors of domestic violence to share their stories, to flippantly sell pizza.
In 2017, Pepsi jumped on the cultural bandwagon of a social justice movement, through a commercial with Kendall Jenner that included street protests to clumsily position its soda as a symbol of unity.
On International Women’s Day in 2021, Burger King UK tweeted “Women belong in the kitchen”, a clickbait tactic to promote female chef scholarships that spectacularly backfired and was perceived as a tone-deaf and sexist misstep.
In 2013, PR executive Justine Sacco, who made a severe error in judgment with an ill-judged tweet about Aids in Africa before a long flight.
While she was in the air, the hashtag #HasJustineLandedYet went viral globally, and she landed to a digital firestorm that cost her, her job, starkly demonstrating how one clear mistake can trigger ruinous real-world consequences.
In each case, the public backlash was swift and unforgiving. Brands were forced to apologise, but the damage was done.
Pepsi was compelled to pull its entire multimillion-dollar campaign and state it “missed the mark”, while Burger King quickly deleted its tweet and conceded, “We got our initial tweet wrong and we’re sorry”.
DiGiorno Pizza’s immediate admission: “A million apologies. Did not read what the hashtag was about”, was a necessary act of public penance to quell the outrage.
Strong brand leadership requires the wisdom and discipline to know which conversations to sit out. It requires understanding that not every trend needs a tie-in and not every viral moment is an opportunity.
The digital world moves with dizzying speed, but the fundamentals of human decency are timeless.
The ColdplayGate saga is a stark reminder that behind the hashtags and memes are real people with real families. The chase for online visibility isn’t worth someone’s real-world pain.
Delivering the impact that propels our clients’ businesses forward across multiple platforms and geographies.
