- 1 year ago
From tone-deaf advertisements to problematic business practices, some corporations really know how to spark outrage. Join us as we count down the brands that created the biggest public backlash with their misguided decisions and controversial actions. These companies learned the hard way that consumer trust is easier to lose than gain!
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00:00They didn't invent evil, they didn't invent class, they just packaged it.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the 10 most misguided companies
00:11who caused the most public outrage and backlash.
00:13How in the world did this possibly get past all of you there
00:18to not realize that this looks like something absolutely terrible?
00:23Number 10, Pearl Mill and Company.
00:25While Williams is glad that the Aunt Jemima brand is going away,
00:28he doubts that her disappearance will have much impact
00:31in the public's perception about stereotypes in the marketplace.
00:36In 2021, this breakfast brand returned to its original name from 1888,
00:40although most people recognize it from the controversial name it used for over 100 years.
00:45In 1889, Pearl Mill and Company began branding their pancake mix as Aunt Jemima,
00:49complete with a caricature image of a black woman to make their product stand out on shelves.
00:54Although Aunt Jemima's look changed over the years as the brand attempted to modernize,
00:58there was no denying that the famous image was rooted in the Jim Crow era
01:01and harmful mammy stereotypes.
01:03Right there on your pancake box.
01:06As a kid, my mother always made those.
01:09Everybody ate those pancakes.
01:10In 2020, after years of backlash, parent company PepsiCo finally announced
01:14they would be removing the Aunt Jemima name and image from packaging.
01:18The company says they've already started eliminating the image and the name from packaging,
01:22and customers should start seeing changes on supermarket shelves later this year.
01:289. Balenciaga
01:29These are the images that have upset so many people.
01:32Young children holding teddy bears dressed in bondage costumes.
01:37Luxury fashion house Balenciaga faced serious social media scrutiny in 2022
01:41when users began noticing a subtle but concerning theme in their campaign photo shoots.
01:46One campaign saw child models holding handbags made of plush bears wearing bondage gear,
01:51a choice many critics saw as incredibly inappropriate.
01:54Critics sounding off on social media.
01:56One writing,
01:57I understand that a lot of Balenciaga's marketing is the shock factor of it all,
02:02but this is just disgusting.
02:04Another photo shoot included legal papers that referenced a Supreme Court case on child sexual abuse imagery.
02:10That same shoot also included a book of Michael Boromans' Fire from the Sun paintings,
02:14which feature images of naked toddlers.
02:17Balenciaga has since apologized and also sued the producers of the photo shoots in question.
02:21The incident led to boycotts and caused many celebrities,
02:24including Kim Kardashian, to reconsider their relationship with the brand.
02:27Everyone on the internet seems to agree.
02:30Very bizarre.
02:31And this group in particular says it is the exploitation of children.
02:36And anyone who buys from Balenciaga is agreeing with that.
02:41Number 8. Dove
02:42I feel like it throws off, you know, the whole, like, idea of facial symmetry
02:46and, like, you know, being beautiful and things like that.
02:49Since 2004, beauty brand Dove has attempted to use their advertising
02:53to promote body positivity and challenge conventional standards of beauty
02:56with their Real Beauty campaign.
02:58The campaign has seen some wins,
03:00with many praising the brand's willingness to showcase more relatable models.
03:03However, sometimes they've missed the mark.
03:05One ad aiming to show how their lotion is suitable for a diverse range of skin types
03:09showed a black woman removing her shirt and turning into a white woman.
03:13Though the ad was not intended to be racist,
03:15Dove apologized for overlooking the fact that it could have been viewed as such.
03:18I think the full TV ad does a much better job of expressing what the campaign message was.
03:24The Facebook ad was really just meant to be something a bit more fun,
03:29a slightly different creative concept.
03:31Number 7. Chick-fil-A
03:33You don't have to be gay to be out here today.
03:35Be straight.
03:36You don't have to, you know, it's not about, you know, making out in front of Chick-fil-A.
03:39It's about standing up for what you believe in and standing together in solidarity.
03:44This fast food restaurant has gained a cult following over the years,
03:47with loyal fans flocking to their local Chick-fil-A six days a week
03:50to get their chicken sandwich fix.
03:52However, as the brand's profile has grown,
03:54so has public scrutiny over certain discriminatory and harmful business practices.
03:58Influenced by the founder's devout Southern Baptist beliefs,
04:01Chick-fil-A has donated millions to groups that oppose same-sex marriage
04:05and organizations that support conversion therapy.
04:08The company has taken PR and hits and even suffered boycotts,
04:12which have resulted in them not being allowed to set up shop on university campuses or airports,
04:17and protests in the UK that have slowed their efforts to establish themselves across the pond.
04:24LGBTQIA plus employees of the fast food chain have also reported facing discrimination
04:29in the form of offensive jokes and threats of termination.
04:32While this has caused many individuals to boycott the brand,
04:35Chick-fil-A still remains one of the top three most successful fast food restaurants in America.
04:40I think we're inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say,
04:46you know, we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.
04:50Number six, Heineken.
04:51This world-famous Dutch beer came under fire in 2018 for an advertisement many viewed as shockingly racist.
04:57In an ad promoting their new light beer,
04:59a bottle slides past multiple patrons before landing in front of a woman with noticeably lighter skin.
05:08The slogan was the final nail in the coffin, reading,
05:11sometimes lighter is better.
05:13Heineken quickly pulled the ad but denied their lighter slogan
05:16referred to anything other than the beer's lower calorie content.
05:18Some, including Chance the Rapper, suggested the ad was an attempt to get attention on the brand
05:22by purposefully stirring up controversy.
05:24They say any press is good press, but this really wasn't a good look for Heineken.
05:29Number five, Zara.
05:30When you see it, there's a part of me that says,
05:33really, do you think the world is going to be this stupid to not notice it?
05:38I'm just selling it.
05:39This Spanish retailer has been consistently expanding worldwide since the 1980s,
05:43selling affordably priced clothing, accessories, and beauty products.
05:47In 2014, an unfortunate design for their kids' clothing line caused significant backlash for the brand.
05:52The shirt in question was meant to be Western-inspired,
05:55but its striped pattern and six-pointed star made it more closely resemble a concentration camp uniform from the Holocaust.
06:01The brand apologized and pulled the shirt, but this wasn't Zara's first or last controversy.
06:06In 2007, the brand pulled a handbag after realizing it was patterned with a green swastika.
06:11More recently, in 2021, a senior designer at Zara came under fire for her harsh anti-Palestinian comments.
06:16They're feeding back that information and trying to synthesize what they see as the global trends of the moment.
06:24That information is then being passed on to the designers and to the buyers.
06:29Number four, Abercrombie & Fitch.
06:36Built on exclusivity, the allure of Abercrombie & Fitch in the early 2000s
06:41was in the high status that wearing their clothing would supposedly grant you.
06:44Former CEO Mike Jeffries famously stated he wanted his brand only to be worn by attractive all-American cool kits.
06:50The stores would each focus on a particular college campus,
06:54and they would try to recruit the best-looking fraternity guys.
07:00If a fraternity guy was popular, other people would then say,
07:03all right, what's he wearing and want to copy that.
07:05He even admitted to his brand being exclusionary.
07:07Abercrombie has since gone through a significant rebrand focusing on inclusivity and diversity,
07:12but controversy still follows its former leader.
07:14In 2023, Jeffries was accused of sexually exploiting male models aspiring to work with Abercrombie
07:20while he was still CEO.
07:21Abercrombie responded by launching an investigation into the matter
07:24and reiterated their severed ties to Jeffries and his actions.
07:28He said, are we exclusionary?
07:30Absolutely.
07:31He said, not everyone can wear our clothes.
07:34I don't want everyone essentially wearing our clothes.
07:36Number three, H&M.
07:38H&M doesn't own any factories, but works with independent suppliers,
07:42who all have to meet H&M's sustainability commitment and code of ethics.
07:47One of the biggest brick-and-mortar fast fashion retailers,
07:50H&M has been a popular choice for affordable trendy clothing for decades.
07:54Due to the ethically fraught nature of fast fashion,
07:57H&M is also no stranger to controversy.
07:59One of the brand's biggest design-based blunders was a 2018 image of a black child model wearing a sweatshirt
08:05that read, coolest monkey in the jungle.
08:07This was perceived as racially insensitive and caused many to boycott the brand.
08:11Marketing expert Shana Hirsch says the clothing controversy could have been avoided.
08:16It's just surprising that that made it through all the different checks.
08:21H&M has also come under scrutiny for the poor working conditions in their factories in China, Cambodia, and Bangladesh.
08:27Other critics highlight the brand's environmental impact,
08:30accusing them of greenwashing with their Conscious Choice line,
08:33which has allegedly misled customers about the sustainability of their products.
08:37Number two, Yeezy.
08:52Within hours, he was on Twitter, sharing an image of a swastika inside the Star of David.
08:59It tested the boundaries of the newly owned social media platform.
09:02These days, it's difficult to find someone more offensive and controversy-prone than Kanye West.
09:07His outspoken anti-Semitic views, including proclaiming himself to be a Nazi,
09:11have ruined his reputation as both an artist and an entrepreneur.
09:14It has also completely tanked his once-successful media and fashion brand, Yeezy.
09:19His minimalist streetwear designs were once highly sought after,
09:22but previous collaborators like Gap and Adidas have cut all ties with Kanye.
09:26I mean, it's a painting. It's a spirit that's inside of it that's now translated into these miniature vehicles.
09:39In 2025, Kanye ensured there would be no separating his views from his brand
09:43when he made a t-shirt featuring a swastika, the only item available in his shop.
09:47Rolling Stone aptly called West a cultural and business pariah,
09:50and he's taken Yeezy down with him.
09:52Are any of them talking to you right now?
09:54Yeah, there are a lot that I really love.
10:01I mean, I love them all.
10:03Before we unveil our topic, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:06Nike, deemed unpatriotic by outspoken fans after the company pulled the Betsy Ross flag shoe
10:11at the request of spokesperson Colin Kaepernick.
10:13Nike set off a firestorm after pulling their shoes emblazoned with the Betsy Ross flag,
10:19an early version of the American flag with 13 stars and stripes used in the 1700s before slavery was abolished.
10:28Urban Outfitters. Employees report a toxic, discriminatory work environment and certain designs offend.
10:33Just moments ago, Urban Outfitters pulled the shirt from its website and it says,
10:37it was never our intention to allude to the tragic events that took place at Kent State in 1970,
10:42and we are extremely saddened that this item was perceived as such.
10:46Uber. Former CEO's Sextus comments and unethical corporate culture caused push for his resignation.
10:52Some people don't like to take responsibility for their shit.
10:56I take responsibility.
10:56They blame everything in their life for somebody else.
10:58But why are you sending an email for a tone card?
11:00Good luck.
11:01Good luck to you too, but I know you don't gonna go far.
11:04Victoria's Secret.
11:05Execs said fashion show fantasy would be ruined by plus-sized and transgender models.
11:10He turned to me and he said,
11:11I don't know how you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and you're okay with that.
11:16And so Monica was like, Ed, stop.
11:18Like, just leave her alone.
11:20He didn't. He kept going on.
11:21Ulta Beauty.
11:22Email subject line read,
11:24Come hang with Kate Spade, who died by hanging.
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11:50Number 1. Pepsi
11:53In the 1940s, Pepsi attempted to compete with Coca-Cola by targeting a more niche market, African Americans.
12:06They focused on ads that portrayed black Americans in a positive light without the use of stereotypes.
12:11Quite progressive for the time, but you wouldn't think Pepsi had ever considered racial sensitivity after viewing their infamous Kendall Jenner ad.
12:18The 2017 commercial referenced the Black Lives Matter movement and heightened racial tension in the United States, particularly regarding police brutality.
12:35During a peaceful protest, Jenner gives a can of Pepsi to a police officer as a sort of peace offering, causing the crowd to erupt in cheers.
12:42This ad was received incredibly poorly, as many rightfully claimed that trivialized the movement and portrayed Jenner as a white savior.
12:49The fact that I would offend other people or hurt other people was definitely not the intent, and that's what got me the most.
12:58Do you think these brands should have been canceled, or was the outrage uncalled for?
13:01Let us know in the comments.
13:03Kendall tries really hard to be socially conscious and aware of the jobs that she takes and to really think about how things affect other people.
13:11So it weighs really heavy on her heart, and she's super sensitive to this kind of stuff.
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