Social Media Is No Place For Nuance

Michael Hedges February 13, 2020 Follow on Twitter

Brand advertisers of a certain scale know quite well how to manage reputations. This is ingrained. They also know the value of risk, and the limits. Messages that walk right up to the line and dabble toes across it have long been rewarded. And not only with awards. Social media just increases risk.

Air travelers know Scandinavian Airlines System as SAS. Like all commercial passenger airlines SAS is in the business of getting people to buy tickets to go places. SAS has a solid reputation in Scandinavia, particularly among frequent fliers. Like all airlines, SAS has faced headwinds in recent years.

Earlier this week SAS placed a two minute 45 second video ad on famous social media platforms. It was an interesting pitch, not unsurprising for a Scandinavian company, warming prospective customers to break their normal routine, do something a bit different. With this ad, it was meant to persuade Scandinavians to visit a new holiday destination. The tagline was “What is truly Scandinavian?”

Nuance is, we have learned, lost on right-wing trolls. Within hours, negative comments poured in, loathing the cultural context “and in some cases Nazi” content, reported Danish public broadcaster DR (February 12). SAS quickly pulled the ad.

“When we look at the pattern and the number of reactions, there is reason to suspect a coordinated attack on the campaign,” said SAS Norway spokesperson John Eckhoff, quoted by Norwegian daily VG (February 12). “We do not want to risk becoming a platform for the values of others.” Indeed, this coordination was confirmed by Swedish fact-checker Mathias Cederholm, reported Swedish daily Aftonbladet (February 12). Russian propaganda portal Sputnik embellished the trolls, as if anybody consciously chooses to fly Aeroflot.

The right-wing trolling went to another level, and then another. Email addresses of SAS marketing employees were hacked and traded. The Copenhagen office of %co, producer of the ad, received an emailed bomb threat, which authorities took seriously enough to conduct a search. Nothing was found but the point was made.

Somewhere within SAS the decision was made to take on the problem at the root. A new, shorter (45 seconds) ad was rolled out. Same message, a bit more “clear.” “The experiences we bring back from our travels inspire us as individuals, but also our society,” said an SAS statement. “It is regrettable that the film is misunderstood, that some choose to interpret the message and use it for their own purpose.”

Increasingly, brand managers are suspicious of social media. Some are playing it safe and simply backing away. Given the huge reach and targeting capacities of social media, this is hardly a reasonable option. As long as social media is open and free, the trolls will do what the trolls do, generally entertain themselves. More nefarious characters will also keep doing what they do. The lessons from this incident is clear: sell your values and trolls are bad customers.

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