[Column] Bas Vlugt: Brands, pick a side (or maybe not)

Everything becomes political — brands and marketing included, with the United States leading the way.

During the Super Bowl, AI company Anthropic aired several commercials mocking the rise of advertising in AI chatbots. Without explicitly naming OpenAI or ChatGPT, the spots clearly targeted OpenAI’s recent decision to start testing ads in the free version of ChatGPT. The commercials showed fictional scenarios in which AI responses suddenly turn into product promotions, using a tagline such as: “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.”

Sam Altman reacted furiously. Perhaps that is not his biggest problem.

With its campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick, Nike positioned itself squarely within the American debate on racism and police violence. The slogan “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” turned Nike into an outspoken social actor.

The reactions were fierce and polarized. Conservative commentators called for boycotts; videos circulated on social media of consumers burning their Nike shoes. At the same time, the brand received broad support from progressive audiences, athletes, and young people.

The Sydney Sweeney has great jeans campaign resulted in American Eagle being labeled as far-right on social media.

There is now a call to boycott ChatGPT. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, Sam Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman donated tens of millions of dollars to the Trump campaign.

Copilot initially dismissed this as a conspiracy theory. When confronted with the Brennan Center for Justice publication, Copilot backtracked, stating that it had consulted other sources. Alternative facts.

Recently, Rob Wijnberg, founder of De Correspondent, published a column titled Donald Trump is the greatest danger to the world since Adolf Hitler.

This is what Wijnberg wrote in his column about brands: “For all tech bosses, multibillionaires, and FIFA bigwigs who, like cowardly dogs, sold their conscience and moral compass for a few extra billion in Q4 profits and handed the fascist a global stage, a well-stocked campaign war chest, and a plastic peace prize, one thing applies: we will remember you as the traitors of the 21st century.”

A storm is raging across the world, and brands are right in the middle of it. Consumers expect more from a brand than a good product or service at a reasonable price. They also expect, for example, social engagement.

To all brands: good luck.

Bas Vlugt is the founder of Marketing Report

www.marketingreport.one

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