Creatives urge marketers to resist swing toward ‘conservative’ post-election ad messaging

It’d likely be a mistake for marketers to hew too closely to faith-and-family messaging simply to appear more conservative now, according to agency strategists that spoke to Digiday. “The industry is probably out of touch to a certain extent,” said Greg Anderson, CEO of Bailey Lauerman, an indie agency in Omaha, Nebraska. “But the industry has also trained marketers and agencies to pursue difference. Difference inherently becomes a niche idea in a mass market.”

The reality gap

For years now, marketers at major brands have understood that creative that mirrors the diversity of modern society is more effective for their brands than messaging that only addresses old realities.

Consumers want to see themselves reflected, went the theory. 58% of US consumers say diversity and inclusion in advertising made a difference to where they shop, while 69% said a diverse staff mattered for their shopping choices, according to a YouGov survey conducted in March.

Meanwhile, a June study from Oxford University’s Saïd Business School based on data from Kantar, Bayer, Diageo and Mars, Mondelez, and Unilever estimated that “inclusive” advertising drove a sales uplift of over 16% when compared with less progressive ad content.

Consumer surveys are certainly imperfect indicators of political beliefs. (Just look at the polls for the presidential election). But the contrast between polls highlighting the importance of diverse representation in advertising and the result of the US presidential election is hard to ignore for marketers.

In response, agency strategists and cultural experts told Digiday they expect some marketers to turn towards more “conservative” messaging.

“I wouldn’t be surprised at all,” said Jason Sperling, chief creative officer of Huntington Beach, California-based Innocean USA, on marketers adopting a more conservative approach. “As the election just showed us, the majority of America would like to see a return to conservatism and traditional values.”

Sperling continued: “I suspect most CMOs will play it safe over the next few years, not wanting to alienate their customer base or risk finding themselves in Trump’s crosshairs for championing a ‘woke agenda.’ Given that, they may stick to more meat and potatoes messaging — keep it simple, keep it focused on product, keep out of trouble.”

James Kirkham, co-founder of U.K.-based agency Iconic, agreed. “The industry’s echo chamber is a real thing, where progressive voices often misread the broader sentiment outside of agency walls. This sort of misalignment could cause a shift, out of fear of alienation and so it might be reasonable to expect a recalibration next,” he said in an email.

Honor thy pets 

That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll be seeing more cowboys or white picket fences in upcoming ads — rather that brands might turn toward even more nostalgic messaging. Sperling said he expected the emergence of “old chestnuts like honoring our military, adopting pets, caring for family and loving our country.”

Nostalgia is “a common card that’s played when you’re going through times of change and uncertainty,” noted Darren Savage, strategy lead at U.K. creative agency You’re The Goods.

“Most marketers will be on a watch-and-see or a more conservative approach,” added Mauren Maldari, co-founder and CEO of New York City creative agency The BAM Connection. “Clearly it is a critical time for marketers to stay close to their customer base and listen.”

Though some marketers were taken by surprise by the election, others prepared. In most cases, that meant pulling back marketing activity altogether to avoid getting caught in any political crossfire.

“We’ve reduced brand spending around the election by 30% to account for media inflation and clutter driven by political ad spending in the run up to the election,” said Chad Waetzig, CMO of Crunch Fitness (also headquartered in Manhattan, New York), without revealing exact figures.

Crunch has recently focused on uncontroversial humor in recent ads. A recent brand campaign contrasted everyday disasters (such as getting one’s head stuck in a staircase banister) to the joy of a gym workout.

Clean fun might be one way of navigating the current social and political tensions playing out. But marketers won’t help their cause by being condescending to consumers.

“The election results don’t mean a return to puritanism. But could signal a need for greater topical balance from brands,” noted Lauerman.

Furthermore, nostalgic messaging that looks back to familiar tropes might just prove ineffective. “Marketers know that creating bland, beige work lacks the punch needed to connect meaningfully in culture with an audience that’s grown used to bold storytelling,” said Kirkham.

“Playing it safe is the fastest path to irrelevance. Brands need to be bold, real and culturally aware to connect,” said New York City-based Code & Theory chief creative officer Craig Elimliah. 

Most of the experts that spoke to Digiday recommended marketers refer to their consumer research, rather than follow a gut reaction. Elimliah advised: “The goal is to listen better, get closer to real people, use diverse voices and insights, and move from selling to truly connecting.”

Marketers should focus on “listening harder to actual real people on the ground, and embracing nuance,” concluded Kirkham.

Easier said than done.

— Kimeko McCoy contributed to this report.