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BUSINESS Wednesday 3 June 2020
Brands weigh in on national protests over police brutality

By LINDSEY BAHR and ANNE manufacturer Intel is pledg-
D'INNOCENZIO ing $1 million to address so-
The Associated Press cial justice and racism.
As thousands of protesters Some of the most mov-
take to the streets in re- ing statements so far have
sponse to police killings of come from corporate ex-
black people, companies ecutives who are black.
are wading into the nation- Marvin Ellison, president
al conversation but taking and CEO of home improve-
care to get their messaging ment chain Lowe's tweeted
right. a statement about growing
Netflix's normally lightheart- up in the Jim Crow South
ed Twitter account took and the company's zero
on a more somber tone on tolerance for racism, dis-
Saturday: "To be silent is to crimination and hate. Citi-
be complicit. Black lives group's Chief Financial Of-
matter. We have a plat- ficer Mark Mason repeat-
form, and we have a duty ed Floyd's words "I can't
to our Black members, em- breathe" in an emotional
ployees, creators and tal- corporate blog post.q
ent to speak up." That got
retweeted over 216,000
times and "liked" over a mil- This Jan. 29, 2010, file photo shows the company logo and view of Netflix headquarters in Los
lion times. Gatos, Calif.
The streaming service is just Associated Press
one of many corporate
brands that have turned to Matters. Black Communi- made," they wrote. "We ordering anything, simply
social media to voice con- ties Matter," and on Mon- cannot turn a blind eye to said it will stand in solidar-
cerns over racial injustice day announced that its it or accept some sense of ity with black partners, cus-
after the death of George cable properties like MTV 'order' that's based on op- tomers and communities:
Floyd, a handcuffed black and Comedy Central will pression." "We will not be bystanders."
man who pleaded for air go dark for 8 minutes and But some companies that Brand experts say corpo-
as a white Minneapolis po- 46 seconds to honor Floyd. offered up statements of rate America needs to go
lice officer pressed his knee Nike, which famously took support were called out on beyond statements and
against Floyd's neck for sev- on the racial injustice issue their own track records on outline what they plan to
eral minutes. head-on with its ad cam- race. L'Oreal, one of the do to combat racism.
At the same time, compa- paign featuring former NFL world's biggest cosmetics "Expressing solidarity with
nies must consider whether quarterback Colin Kaeper- companies, tweeted Mon- the Black Lives Movement
it makes sense for them to nick, revealed a new vid- day: "Speaking out is worth is the right message, but
weigh in, especially on an eo ad on Friday that bore it," and pledged a "com- everyone is jumping in on
issue as sensitive as race. the words: "For once, don't mitment" to the NAACP. that bandwagon," said Al-
"It's brand activism," said Al- do it." The ad, a twist on its That drew swift criticism on- len Adamson, co-founder
exander Chernev, a profes- "Do it" motto, urged viewers line from those who see the and managing partner of
sor of marketing at North- not to "pretend there's not company's business model Metaforce a marketing
western University's Kellogg a problem in America." and advertising as focused and product consultancy.
School of Management. Even automakers took un- on white consumers. "Just saying you are stand-
"It's not surprising. But com- usually strong stances on Likewise, Amazon's tweet ing with them is nice but
panies have to think very Floyd's death. urging the end of "the in- probably isn't going to be
carefully before they take "I am both impatient and equitable and brutal treat- meaningful for them or for
a stand on these issues." disgusted by the fact that ment of black people" the brand. It can be seen
There are plenty of exam- as a nation, we seem to received backlash from as opportunistic."
ples of brands speaking out be placated by the pas- followers, who questioned Wendy Liebmann, founder
forcefully on social media, sive discussion of 'why,'" the the company's own com- and CEO of WSL Strate-
particularly in industries normally reserved General mitment during the coro- gic Retail, agrees, saying
where cultural awareness is Motors CEO Mary Barra navirus pandemic in which there is no reason to make
necessary part of the busi- wrote in a weekend note to employees have been a public statement unless
ness. WarnerMedia, which employees. "There comes complaining about unsafe the company actually has
is owned by AT&T and in- a time when we are com- working conditions. a concrete plan to help
cludes brands like HBO and pelled to stop diagnosing Other companies have resolve the issue of rac-
TBS, changed their handles what is wrong and start ad- been kept their messages ism. She praised Peloton's
to #BlackLivesMatter and vocating for what is right." broad. For instance, The Twitter pledge to donate
all posted the same James At Ford, Executive Chair- Walt Disney Co. and its $500,000 to the NAACP
Baldwin quote: "Neither man Bill Ford and CEO Jim brands, like Marvel, Star legal defense fund as an
love nor terror makes one Hackett told employees Wars and Pixar, all posted example. Jeans giant Levi
blind: indifference makes Monday that the company the same statement on Strauss & Co. is also back-
one blind." would "lead from the front" Twitter about standing ing its statements with mon-
Twitter changed its icon- by committing to a fair and for inclusion and with the ey, committing $100,000
ic profile image to black inclusive culture for work- black community. Star- to its longstanding partner
with the Black Lives Matter ers. bucks, which took heat in ACLU. YouTube pledged
hashtag. Media giant Via- "We know that systemic 2018 when two black men $1 million to support efforts
comCBS tweeted "Black racism still exists despite in one of its Philadelphia addressing social injustice.
Lives Matter. Black Culture progress that has been stores were arrested for not And semiconductor chip