Can there be anything worse for a company than a failed and embarrassing marketing campaign? Yes...I'm sure there are other possibilities that could potentially be worse for a company but for now, let's imagine it is the worst possibility. Molson Coors Brewing Co. is a Canadian brewing company that once was known for it's outstanding, flavorful beers but is now notorious for it's failed marketing campaign.
Molson utilized Facebook to initiate a photo contest that would allow the winner the claim to an all-inclusive trip to Cancun. To win this photo contest, first, a university would have to have submitted the more photos than any other collegiate institution in Canada. Then the best photo from that university would declare the winner. According to the dean of student affairs at Queen's University in Kingston, ON, who was rather displeased with the contest, said, "in order for the photos to be eligible, to be notable, would require outrageous behaviour or profoundly dangerous levels of drinking." These type of photos required for entrance into the contest promoted irresponsible behavior and was teaching kids from the age of 19-24 that drinking and out-of-control conduct would technically get you somewhere.
College deans across Canada were extremely upset with the proposed contest by Molson, and the brewing company certainly heard about it. The contest was eventually taken off of the Facebook fan page of Molson and was at that point terminated. The campaign was ultimately a failure even though negative publicity can at times be better than no publicity. Do you believe that Molson was wrong in their photo contest, or do you not see a problem with it? Let me know what you think.
No comments:
Post a Comment