Opinion

Mortein: To post or not to post?

Tom Kearney IsobarMortein was this week forced to apologise and pull a Facebook post which showed its mascot, Louie the fly, voicing his sympathy for murdered schoolteacher Stephanie Scott. Isobar’s Tom Kearney looks at where the social media team went wrong. 

To post or not to post?

That was the question raised on Sunday when bug spray brand Mortein decided to create a Facebook post relating to the murder of schoolteacher Stephanie Scott.

So, how does a brand judge whether it’s appropriate or not to comment on a sensitive topic on social media? Are there rules that govern posts for everyone, brands and individuals alike?

Does it boil down to understanding your place?

#putyourdressout came alive on Saturday, the day that Stephanie Scott was to walk down the aisle. Brides around the country photographed and posted their wedding dresses over the weekend in an act of solidarity that only women, as I saw it, could genuinely participate in. After all, only women could know how Stephanie Scott, a bride-to-be, would have been feeling.

Only women who have experienced their wedding days could truly feel the sentiment of #putyourdressout.

I, like many other social media users, was merely an observer, watching women around the country unite, spurred by an awful event that highlighted once again the issue of women’s safety in Australia. And while we could all appreciate #putyourdressout, this was really a grassroots campaign created by women, for women. And above all, for Stephanie Scott.

Only that’s kinda not how Mortein saw it, or so it seemed. Out of nowhere, Louie the Fly — a smoking, coughing brand character — was suddenly doing the same thing.

A ‘tasteless decision by the social maketing team’, was how I summarised the post on Mortein’s Facebook page. So what made it ‘tasteless’ in my opinion?

I guess it requires dissecting the post a little.

Louie the flyLouie the Fly is a fly. A fly who obviously isn’t real; who obviously isn’t female. He’s a fictitious character for a brand that manufactures poison to kill insects.

Quite a leap from the women displaying their grief for a young woman who had her life taken from her.

Louie the Fly was, quite simply, trespassing in a space he hadn’t been invited into.

But it wasn’t just that. Something felt intrinsically wrong about Mortein making a social comment relating to Stephanie Scott. But why?

Having worked as a creative in the industry for a while now, I understand the desire to be creative, topical and leverage an online trend first.

When the blue/black/gold/white dress materialised on social media earlier this year, agile brands that were responsive and clever enough were the first to hijack the viral trend.

By association, their own wares earned instant relevance through quick-witted social posts designed to put them top-of-mind. A few brands nailed it – quite a few just came across as desperate once two, three, four days had passed while still insisting on jumping on the bandwagon.

Let’s not forget what a brand’s reason for posting to social media is really about: likes, shares and engagement. And ultimately the point is about connecting with existing followers and attracting new ones.

Mortein’s post was no exception. It was posted for likes, shares and engagement.

And it was successful. That, I found, was one of the weirdly disturbing aspects to the post. Mortein’s followers liked and shared it with barely a whimper about its relevance or appropriateness.

There are some brands that could have participated in #putyourdressout without seeming to cross the line.

A bridal designer, for example, probably could have – someone who makes beautiful gowns for women for their wedding days.

Perhaps women’s fashion magazines could have posted something on their social media accounts too. But not a bug spray brand.

#putyourdressout, a social campaign entrenched with the empathy of women across Australia, should not have been intruded upon by a fictitious fly that cannot feel anything.

It’s one thing to identify a marketing opportunity for your brand to join in with an online social campaign.

Understanding whether your brand has any right to, is another. Especially when it comes to sensitive topical subjects.

Social marketers should always step back and critically ask, ‘Is my brand entitled to an opinion on this? Am I relevant in this conversation?’ and be honest with their answers.

That’s where Louie the Fly made his biggest mistake.

  • Tom Kearney is a Senior Art Director at Isobar

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