Brands react to the outcome of the presidential election

After this anxiety-inducing week of counting votes, Americans received the news on Saturday that Joe Biden won the election and was named president elect, after receiving the most votes of any candidate in history, while Kamala Harris made history as the first woman and woman of color to become vice president. President Trump, meanwhile, still claims to have actually won the election and has several lawsuits against states where he believes voting fraud was committed. With such a contested and close election in many states, major brands like Walgreens, Netflix and Kellogg lowered their ad spending this past week to stay out of the national conversation. Before the final votes were counted, brands that stepped into the political arena saw varying levels of success. While the Calm app saw positive sentiment for sponsoring CNN coverage on Election Night, Gap saw the opposite when it tweeted a message of unity with a red and blue hoodie. The retailer deleted the tweet within an hour after people asserted that the brand was taking advantage of the political climate to sell goods. Even so, when the final results of the election were announced, not all brands and ad agencies remained silent, although many brands that had get-out-the-vote campaigns have not yet put out messaging around the results. Brands like Ben & Jerry’s, Bumble and ClassPass, along with ad agencies like McCann Worldwide and R/GA, reacted to the news on social media, to varying levels of overtness. While the passionate Ben & Jerry’s made its position clear in a blog post to its followers, Oreo and Potbelly tweeted oh-so-subtle nods at celebrating. Many focused on celebrating Harris’ historic win or messages of unity, rather than celebrating a win for the Democratic party. Ben & Jerry’s The ice cream brand, known for taking positions on social and justice issues like Black Lives Matter, shared a blog post to its social media followers on Saturday, congratulating Americans on the historic voter turnout, encouraging them to continue to support the causes they care about, and calling on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to create “a new, more just and equitable normal.” “Donald Trump, his administration, and his enablers sowed the seeds of division while waging an attack on the norms and values that define our democracy. … For the first time in our country’s history, we’ve elected a woman, a Black woman, a South-Asian-American woman to the vice presidency. Amid the ongoing struggle to dismantle white supremacy and ensure that every Black life matters, this is a dramatic and important step on our long and unstoppable march toward justice.” “We call on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to stand on this common ground and back us in building a just future. Because rejecting Donald Trump is not enough.” Two days before the results were announced, Ben & Jerry’s also tweeted some strong words about the President’s claims. “We can’t believe an ice cream company has to say this. … The President’s lies are a threat to our country. Voters voted. Patriotic election workers are counting votes. Voters will choose the next president.” View this post on Instagram We must commit ourselves to not just rejecting racism, but to becoming an anti-racist country. Read our full statement at the link in our bio. A post shared by Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) on Nov 7, 2020 at 9:30am PST Bumble Dating app Bumble said “It’s about damn time” that a woman has been elected vice president. View this post on Instagram It’s about damn time. Welcome @kamalaharris. A post shared by Bumble (@bumble) on Nov 7, 2020 at 8:42am PST ClassPass The workout app quoted Kamala Harris on her message of unity. View this post on Instagram We’re stronger together 💪 A post shared by ClassPass (@classpass) on Nov 7, 2020 at 1:22pm PST MTV The TV channel encouraged young people to continue to show up like they did with this election. View this post on Instagram Young people made history. You showed up to vote in record-breaking numbers. Keep showing up. To vote, to organize, to learn, to change the world. A post shared by MTV (@mtv) on Nov 7, 2020 at 8:38am PST Seventh Generation The eco-friendly cleaning products company shared a collage of people voting and thanked everyone for doing so, declaring, “Future generations will remember.” View this post on Instagram As voters, we have done our job. People across the nation exercised their right to vote in record numbers proving what we’ve known all along: our democracy is about the people – all of the people. We want to thank every single person who stood up to use their voice and their #VotefortheNextGen. Future generations will remember. A post shared by Seventh Generation (@seventhgeneration) on Nov 6, 2020 at 12:46pm PST Oreo We see you, Oreo. It’s a Double Stuf OREO type of day 👏— OREO Cookie (@Oreo) November 7, 2020 Potbelly And you, Potbelly. milkshakes for lunch today!— potbelly (@Potbelly) November 7, 2020 Just Egg Without aligning with a party or even celebrating the winner, plant-based egg brand Just Egg inserted itself in the conversation by helping with the stress from the election week. In New York City, local food influencers with whom the brand has partnered are leaking secret hotlines that people can use to request one of three recipe kits for Just Eggs florentine, eggnog French toast or buckwheat crepes for free. The brand will then deliver them to eliminate any election hangovers out there. New Museum New York-based New Museum shared artwork depicting the record voter turnout. View this post on Instagram We are incredibly moved by our country's record-breaking voter turnout and the work of our dedicated poll workers, volunteers, and organizations that fight every day to keep our democracy intact. Hell, Yes! 🇺🇸 . Ugo Rondinone, Hell, Yes!, 2001. Neon, perspex, translucent film, aluminum, 734 x 284 x 15 cm A post shared by New Museum (@newmuseum) on Nov 7, 2020 at 11:44am PST Brooklyn Bowl Music venue Brooklyn Bowl congratulated the new vie president and shared a photo from her appearance at the venue. View this post on Instagram From our stage to the national stage, congratulations to the first-ever female, US Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris 🇺🇸 (📸: @beatricemoritzphoto) A post shared by Brooklyn Bowl (@brooklynbowl) on Nov 7, 2020 at 10:21am PST Girlboss The professional network for women says the ceiling is now smashed, thanks to Harris. View this post on Instagram ceiling: SMASHED 💥 A post shared by Girlboss® (@girlboss) on Nov 7, 2020 at 1:40pm PST Howard University The university celebrated Biden and 1986 graduate Harris. Congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, an ‘86 graduate of The Howard University. HHHHHH—UUUUUUUUUUU !!!💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/FrfpvXZiVF— Howard University (@HowardU) November 7, 2020 Syracuse University The university celebrated Biden, the school’s first alumni president. Red, white, blue and Orange 🍊 @JoeBiden L'68 becomes first #SyracuseU alumnus elected president. Our alumni reach great heights. pic.twitter.com/mghT02HTWm— Syracuse University (@SyracuseU) November 7, 2020 McCann Worldwide The day after the election outcome was declared, the Interpublic agency shared a photo of Fearless Girl with an American flag wrapped around her. View this post on Instagram #fearlessgirl A post shared by McCann (@mccann_mw) on Nov 8, 2020 at 7:54am PST R&R Partners Las Vegas-based R&R Partners shared a message of unity from its CEO. View this post on Instagram A statement from our CEO, Billy Vassiliadis, on moving forward as a nation, business and family. #weRRfamily A post shared by R&R Partners (@rrpartners) on Nov 7, 2020 at 12:45pm PST R/GA New York-based agency R/GA had a dig at Trump. When I was 8 and my sister got a bigger piece of cake pic.twitter.com/pNY3PikAR9— R/GA (@RGA) November 7, 2020

Brands react to the outcome of the presidential election

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