Heineken "Sometimes, Lighter is Better"

Brand Heineken found itself caught up in the court of social media opinion this past weekend, fueled by the rapper Chance.

Quickly after releasing an ad titled “Sometimes, Lighter is Better,” All to promote its light beer as an alternate to wine.

Chance sent out a tweet claiming that the video was racist. Others quickly joined in the conversation and to the brand’s credit it quickly apologized for missing the boat, and quickly pulled the ad.

See what you think...

Keep in mind that Heineken had released a campaign last year called “Open Your World” where it brought together folks with vastly different opinions so that they could hash it out over a beer. Promoting diversity and inclusion. You can read about that one here.

A few lessons here. First, respond quickly to consumer opinions and accept responsibility. Also sure you test your messaging with your consumers before you release it, just to make sure you’re saying what you want to be saying. Just to make sure your intentions come through and to avoid any misinterpretations. And then be prepared to respond should things not go as planned no matter the case.

So what’s your take? What’s your experience? JIM.