Lessons From Social Media Blunders

Adrian is the Founder and CEO of pepperconn.  Pepperconn provides social media consultancy and also allows enterprises to DIY, through its unique groupware

The controversy surrounding Toyota Australia’s user generated ad for the Yaris (managed by Satchi & Satchi) has its parallels with the SingPost vandalised post boxes campaign.

If you are unfamiliar with them:

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Yaris

SingPost

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Here’s my take on these controversies:

1. The complaints are both blown out of proportion from the content perspective. Creativity has taken a beating here.

In the case of Toyota, clearly the car was the subject of sexual innuendos but the remarks made by Dad were not targeted at his daughter. For SingPost, it’s their own property, they can jolly well do what they want with it. So, everyone should just loosen up.

2. Yes, they could have been more sensitive to potential controversy.

Toyota – here’s the thing about discrimination, until the joke’s on you, you would be having a good laugh about it, and asking, what is wrong with that? Yes, as a guy, it didn’t seem offensive to me though I must admit, it was really old school, jab jab, grawf grawf, wink wink, kind of pub pun jokes, (some say Benny Hill). But imagine this, if the video was not about women, but about Chinese people – making fun of our slitty eyes, funny accent, and describing us as Ching Chongs, etc.. suddenly, it aint’ funny anymore. So learn to empathize. Avoid the Eddie Murphy or Kumar styled jokes, where it’s always at the expense of someone else. I’m sure there are better ways of creating humor.