Coldplaygate wasn’t just a scandal, it was a brand audit
Coldplaygate showed how fast brands can move and how quickly they can forget who they are. When a viral scandal becomes a marketing moment, the question isn’t 'can we post', it’s 'should we?' Ruth Haffenden, Australian chief marketing officer at Flying Tiger Copenhagen, explores.
It had all the makings of a viral sensation: Coldplay, a kiss cam, and a scandal no one could look away from. But is every viral hit really fair game for brands?
As marketers rushed to join the conversation, it raised a bigger question: What happens when engagement comes at the expense of empathy? What began as a meme quickly surfaced a deeper discomfort – how easily brand behaviour can drift from brand values when the pressure to stay relevant takes over.
Who are we laughing at?
Behind the memes and marketing, this wasn’t just another viral moment, it was a public unravelling.
A CEO and CPO, both named, both visible, caught in a moment that threw not only their company into crisis, but their families into the global spotlight. For the wife and children watching it unfold online, there was no punchline and will not be for some time. And yet, it became content.
That dissonance, between public amusement and private humiliation matters even more when the brands piling on position themselves around care, connection, and family-first values.
Newsjacking isn’t one-size-fits-all
In the days that followed that ‘moment’, brands rushed to ride the wave, churning out memes, parody kiss cams, and joke ads. Everyone from local coffee shops to global consumer giants placed their products front and centre.
Some brands landed the moment cleanly — those that trade in irreverence, real-time wit, or cultural commentary were playing in familiar territory. For them, the humour made sense.
StubHub leaned in with a cheeky “we have Coldplay tickets for you and your favourite coworker”, gaining on-brand visibility as Coldplay’s tour continues across North America.
Meanwhile, Ryanair, known for its no-filter social tone, posted “Ryanair x Coldplay, splitting up couples”, a punchline that worked precisely because it aligned with the brand’s irreverent tone and self-deprecating personality. In both cases, the posts passed the brand-fit test: clever, fast, and unmistakably on-brand.
Ryanair’s X post
But for others, particularly those built on empathy, trust, or family-first positioning, the same punchlines felt tone-deaf.
Health brands telling us “it feels like a concert when you don’t cheat on your diet”. Family apparel brands heavy handedly asking “caught on the kiss cam? Our ‘Bra Tank’ is ready for anything, even if you’re not”. Furniture companies staging plush toys in a kiss captioned: “HR approved.”
Chipotle jumped on the bandwagon too
The jokes themselves weren’t inherently unfunny. But is it just a bit of fun? Or are we making light of a woman and her children caught in a public humiliation? For values-led brands, the joke didn’t just fall flat, it felt like it broke character.
The difference? A filter. Not just can we post this, but should we? Virality isn’t a green light on its own. Newsjacking only works when there’s a clear line of fit between the moment, the message, and the brand.
Without that, it risks feeling opportunistic, or worse, off-brand. Especially for those that trade on empathy, trust, or family-first positioning, alignment isn’t optional – it’s the point.
Newsjacking isn’t inherently unethical. But without judgement, empathy or integrity, it stops being clever commentary and starts looking like a disconnect.
Ruth Haffenden
Make it make sense
In the attention economy, speed matters. But so does judgment. Brand teams have spent too long letting red tape stall timely, culturally relevant work, so, yes, agility is vital.
But relevance without reflection is risky without first asking ourselves: Does the tone of this content really reflect what our brand stands for, or just what’s trending?
Would this sit comfortably next to our purpose statement? Or unravel it? Would this make sense next to our latest CSR initiative? Would our CMO send this to the board as a brand-defining example?
Would our head of brand add this to the tone-of-voice guidelines as an on point example? Would we push paid media behind it? Or does it only feel ‘funny’ when it’s disposable? Can we clearly articulate the role we have to play in this moment and why our involvement strengthens our brand position?
For brands built on warmth and trust, the risk is not just to appear momentarily off-brand, it’s to make your audience question if you ever meant anything you’ve said in the first place.
The brands that continue to win at culture aren’t just quick, they’re unwaveringly clear on who they are. That clarity, is creative edge, and it’s not worth trading for a like.
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It’s ironic how many people in media/creative are celebrating this ‘cultural’ moment considering how much inter-office extra curricular activity happens in the industry.
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the most reliable thing in these uncertain times is the ‘viral moment to what this means for your brand mumbrella post’ pipeline.
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It’s like the obsession with true crime, it launches so far into the arena of entertainment that people and marketers forget there are actual humans in the sidelines.
Like hur hur social teams high-fiving each other because they made funny but zero consideration for the tact of it all.
Sure, maybe a PDA isn’t the place for a covert affair, but this pile on and brands all getting on the gag is just kinda gross.
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Comedy equals tragedy plus time;
The kiss cam is only supposed to be for the enjoyment of the people at the game. They never show that on TV. What people do in the privacy of their own sports arena should be their own business.
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