Yesterday was International Women’s Day, an opportunity for brands to appreciate and connect with (what’s likely) at least half of their customer base – or miss the mark with them entirely.
Enter Burger King, who made waves with their “Women Belong in the Kitchen” campaign, designed to promote their new initiative to award more culinary scholarships to women.
The funniest thing about the Burger King "tweet" is that it clearly wasn't just a tweet. This was a whole international campaign that the UK timezone just got first. They can decide against tweeting it from the US account but they couldn't pull the New York Times ad fast enough🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/i4EvOCdFDF
— Thomas ‘TomSka’ Ridgewell (@thetomska) March 8, 2021
It’s a noble goal, but, as you can see, they were eviscerated on social media for it. They’ve since sincerely apologized for missing the mark.
And I kinda feel bad, because you can see the good intentions behind the campaign. After all, the food industry still struggles with gender inequality, and making the industry more accessible to women via culinary scholarships is a step in the right direction
So where did it go so wrong?
To me, the misstep is underlied by concept I feel is central to content marketing: that empathy trumps creativity, every time.
That doesn’t mean that empathy and creativity are mutually exclusive – of course they aren’t – but that, without enough empathy, creativity risks coming across tone-deaf.
And it’s easy to see how this campaign happened. Burger King is trying to raise awareness about gender inequality in their field, and a headline like “Women Belong in the Kitchen” is certainly a creative and effective way to get people’s attention.
But it misses the point that because women in the food industry (and anywhere, really) still experience sexism, an ironic reframing of the “get back in the kitchen” trope still has the potential to hurt. Even when it’s done with the best intentions. Even when the campaign is working toward gender equality.
What can your brand take away from this?
Let empathy take center stage in your marketing – and if you have to choose between the more creative and the more empathic option, go with empathy.
Make sure your content always aligns with your brand’s core mission and values. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes to identify when and where you can afford to be a little irreverent, and the major pain points where you need to tread lightly.
Because ultimately, what matters most is the trust you build with your customers. That’s what cultivates (and maintains) long-standing relationships, strengthens your authority in your field, and keeps you thriving in your industry.
So let empathy fuel your creativity to find fresh new ways to help your customers articulate and solve their problems. And make that your central goal – even if you need to sacrifice a snappy headline to do it.
