Recently, the public account of P&G Member Center published an article “Women’s foot odor is 5 times that of men, don’t believe it!”, which aroused heated discussions among netizens. The article shows, “The bacterial reproduction rate of men’s feet is 400%, and that of women is 2300%. No matter how clean women are, their underwear is dirtier than men’s, and women’s hair is twice as dirty as men’s…” The article caused widespread doubts among netizens. On March 24, Procter & Gamble China responded that it was accused of insulting women: “I solemnly apologize for the inappropriate content of a recent article that is disrespectful to women.” We will definitely reflect deeply and prevent similar situations from happening again. (China News Agency)
There is another big-name rollover, and it is in the most incredible posture. As a giant in the field of daily chemical products, Procter & Gamble’s “mistake” is undoubtedly disastrous and puzzling. Different from ordinary small-scale factories, Procter & Gamble, a large multinational company in this segment, has a set of mature values and internal control mechanisms. It stands to reason that its tweets and announcements are more orthodox and stable. This time, the wonderful articles on the “P&G Member Center” official account are quite frivolous, even vulgar, in terms of conception and prose. Even if it is compared to those “marketing accounts” that are not popular on the market, this article from “Procter & Gamble Member Center” is extremely vulgar. Its disgusting aspects are too numerous to mention. First, the words and sentences are rough and revealing, causing the audience to feel uncomfortable; second, the comparison between men and women is deliberately made to provoke gender opposition. Is this an unintentional mistake, or is it intentional? A company with a long history, aiming to bring hygiene and cleanliness, actually outputs such vulgar words, is there a “story” behind the “accident”?
The construction of corporate reputation takes years; the collapse of reputation is instantaneous. Today, when gender-related issues are extremely sensitive, this article by P&G was quickly identified as “insulting women” by public opinion. The big-name “sewage capsize”, a seemingly isolated tragedy, actually has a common direction behind it, that is, the struggle and discomfort of traditional manufacturers in the context of “mobile Internet” media communication – continue to “one-sidedly” and “every board” traffic flow Can’t get up, can’t bear to follow the trend and play the “marketing account” set, but forget the inherent business ethics and brand tonality, and accidentally play myself.
What needs to be clarified is that the fans or consumers of a specific brand are not the same fans that the general public account wants to attract. The usual gameplay of marketing public accounts may not be suitable for the operation of big-name public accounts. The official account of “P&G Member Center” faces more of its own existing customers. Its main mission should be to strengthen recognition and retention, rather than “stimulating emotions” and “creating sensationalism”.
In this regard, it is unwise to throw out a series of allegedly insulting women. It is different from “resigning”. In response, Procter & Gamble responded that it has always advocated the values of equality, inclusion and respect. But the so-called “values”, after all, are not castles in the air. After all, they must be realized in specific ways of doing things and expressions. Business ethics must be transformed into business specifications for the whole process, and must be strictly implemented in terminal output again and again. I hope that after the apology, Procter & Gamble can really check and fill in the gaps, and reconstruct the brand image with responsible follow-up actions.
(The author is a special commentator of Yangcheng Evening News)
Editor: Wang Yu
[Source: Jinyang Network]
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