For better or worse, brands rock the midterm vote

If the Twitter feeds of consumer brands are indicative of any larger trends, then voter turnout should be huge today. From Skittles to White Castle to Kenneth Cole, big companies were tweeting their civic pride — while carefully avoiding anything in the way of partisan rhetoric.

Be it a sporting event, a holiday, or even an election, brands these days do not pass up on an opportunity to indulge in some real-time marketing — sometimes to their benefit, but more often to their disadvantage. Here then are the good, bad and ugly brand tweets that attempted to walk the line between patriotic and promotional … right on into the polling station:

Good

Grey Goose

Are you encouraging people to get drunk and then vote or vote and then get drunk? Either way, the clean lines with just a tiny brand logo and a glass in the middle is a design winner, if nothing else.

Sherwin Williams

While blue and red hardly qualify as “bold colors,” we get the smart brand promotion there, Sherwin Williams.

Patagonia

Finally one brand that isn’t promoting a product, but a cause—and even putting in the effort to use original art for it. Kudos, Patagonia.

Bad

Staples

So Twizzlers represent the Republicans and M&Ms represent the Democrats? There is so much happening here that it’s downright confusing.

KFC

We’ll opt for the green party: a nice salad. 

White Castle

Where is In-n-Out when you need it?

Starburst

Again, it’s not about you Starburst!

Skittles

This tweet is undecipherable, but comes close to hinting at a message of equality for gays. We think?

Ugly

Cole Haan

You’d expect a classy brand to roll out classy social content. You’d be wrong. Really Cole Haan?

https://digiday.com/?p=94502

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