Patagonia Sues President Trump

In what might likely be a first ever for a brand, Patagonia has joined a consortium that is suing President Trump (his administration) over disagreements concerning preservation of land including the area Bears Ears which was just recently added to the protected list by President Obama.

I’m not commenting on the politics here...that’s for other folks and for other blogs. I’m just commenting on the branding.

Sure, we know that companies and brands spend a considerable amount of time lobbying for their interests in Washington, DC, and Patagonia has certainly not made secret its interests in environmental protection. It’s at the heart of its brand, actually.

But I’m not sure I’ve even seen a brand actually field a lawsuit over an issue...an issue where both sides appear to be on insurmountable opposite sides.

And for the first time ever to my eye, we are seeing a social media war break out across the two sides as well. A war of social words, so to speak, which is making it very public how both sides feel. No doubt about that. And both sides are rallying their support groups as a result.

I don’t think we’ve ever seen this in branding and marketing! This is a brand really fighting for what it believes in, publicly and politically, and a government administration using social media to fight back.

The visual block on their website, pictured above, says it all.

Is this where branding is going now? Sign of the times? What’s your experience? JIM.