Businesses are increasingly finding themselves in the middle of culture wars

"Is that a new ad campaign or Nazi propaganda? Did you redesign your logo or abandon traditional values? As wild as those accusations sound, that's the minefield companies increasingly encounter when undergoing corporate rebrands. Businesses trying to drum up attention and sell more products are finding themselves in the middle of culture wars, writes BI's Emily Stewart. Ironically, these firestorms happen as most companies try to avoid taking political stances."

"Sometimes, the blowback is so strong a company reverses course, as was the case with Cracker Barrel and its logo-gone-wrong incident. The end result is that the attackers feel vindicated by their critique, emboldening them for the next potential target. But the reality is that most of what you're seeing from companies isn't politically coded. As Emily smartly puts it, what's really behind most of these campaigns is that "a brand would just like to sell you things and remind you that it's there.""

Corporate rebrands increasingly trigger intense accusations and culture-war backlash, from claims of propaganda to abandoning traditional values. Attempts to attract attention and sell products place brands in polarized public debates. Most companies prefer to avoid political stances, but societal hyperpolarization leaves little neutral ground and forces brands to thread an impossibly small needle. Strong backlash can force companies to reverse decisions, as occurred with Cracker Barrel, and attackers gain confidence to target the next brand. In reality, most rebranding campaigns are commercial efforts intended to sell products and maintain brand visibility.

Read at Business Insider