WWIII: Sponsored by Applebee's

As I casually scrolled through my Twitter feed last Thursday night (as casually as one can scan the news of the situation currently ongoing in Ukraine), I noticed a couple of tweets with videos of an Applebee’s ad playing on CNN while the news tickers relating information about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued to occupy the screen. Well, that’s unfortunate placement,” I thought at the time and moved along. 

The next morning at work, however, I received an email from PR Daily, a website that rounds up relevant public relations articles and information each day. There in their Daily Scoop segment was the headline “Applebee’s pulls ads from CNN after controversial placement.”  

Here is how it all got started—during CNN’s coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, CNN cut to commercial following a video shot of air raid sirens going off in Kyiv. The chyron read “Air raid sirens ring out in Ukraine’s capital.” CNN and other TV networks will frequently use split-screen advertising to air commercials while still maintaining programming (Atkinson, 2022).  

But the switch from the somber and ominous air raid sirens to an Applebee’s light-hearted ad set to the song “Chicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band was jarring. The ad played inside split-screen coverage of the air raid footage. As the song “Chicken Fried” played, lyrics like:  

You know I like my chicken fried 

Cold beer on a Friday night 

A pair of jeans that fit just right 

were accompanied by images of Applebee’s chicken, tall glasses of beer, and a gentleman in a cowboy hat and dark, tight blue jeans shaking his bottom at the camera alongside the headline “Russia Invades Ukraine” and bold “BREAKING NEWS” bulletins. 

Split-screen advertising became popular during sports broadcasts. Oftentimes, advertising this way makes sense. The advertising agency BFW says the advantage of split-screen advertising is that “the audience’s guard is down. Their content is still running. They’re in an emotional state that is different than when they would encounter an ad during a commercial break” (Shure, 2022). The problem with that logic is that the emotional state of viewers watching CNN that Thursday did not line up with the emotional state that would enjoy watching a cowboy wiggle his bottom at the camera. 

The unfortunate ad placement began making the rounds online, where one Twitter user who shared the clip called it “WWIII sponsored by Applebee’s.” As the negative comments online grew, Applebee’s moved quickly to end the ad spots on CNN. They also issued the following statement attributed to an Applebee’s spokesperson:  

“We are deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine. When we were made aware that our ad was placed in this manner, we immediately reached out to CNN to pause our advertising on their network. It never should have aired, and we are disappointed in the actions of the network.” 

According to PR Daily, they shared the article on their Daily Scoop to highlight the fact that when a brand buys airtime on a TV network, it is possible that their commercial could run during or near content that does not align with your company’s brand (Atkinson, 2022).  

Applebee’s, one of the largest casual dining chains in the world, centers its branding on its versatile dining experience setting, maintaining the image of being “a comfortable place where people can come together to meet, eat, and have fun (Cannon, 2019). That branding does not align with its representation on CNN—huddling in the safest spot you can find while air raid sirens signal danger from an invading world superpower does not seem like the most comfortable place to meet, eat, and have fun.  

CNN, the first television channel to provide 24/7 news coverage, was once billed as “The Most Trusted Name in News,” although its reputation currently suffers from the same issues of public distrust that plague many news outlets today. Applebee’s statement after pulling the ads places the blame squarely on the news network, accusing them of making a poor choice by running commercial advertisements in a split-screen fashion with footage of Russia invading Ukraine.  

As of this posting, the Zac Brown Band has not made any statement regarding Applebee’s ad placement and ensuing negative publicity.  

This week's readings discuss branding. Both Applebee’s and CNN work hard to maintain branding that aligns with the products offered and the audience intended to consume them. Although both brands were offering exactly that (Applebee’s offering delicious chicken, beer, and fun; CNN offering serious coverage of an ongoing worldwide news event), the mixture of the two created a juxtaposition that created a negative impression of both brands.  

This week’s readings also cover online reputation management. The ensuing negative publicity for both Applebee’s and CNN following the controversial advertising agency affected the online reputation of both brands. Reputationmanagement.com shared a list of ways that a company could maintain good reputational management, and the following is how a few of them relate to the situation involving Applebee’s and CNN.  

Google yourself or your brand name 

“The only way to grasp the full scope of your reputation issue is to Google yourself” (Considine, 2020). Right now, this tip is not incredibly helpful to the Applebee's brand—top stories that all involve the ad placement are the third hit when you Google “Applebee’s”. But a brand should always be aware of what people are finding when they search for you.  

Inventory your digital assets and vulnerabilities and Build your fortress of controllable assets 

You might not always be able to control when something negative occurs to your brand, but you can take steps to ensure that your online reputation is healthy before any crisis occurs. Applebee’s reputation as a fun fast-casual dining experience branding should be there to take the sting off the negative ad placement on CNN. In this case, the best defense is a good offense.  

Expand your online presence 

It may seem like a way to distract from your faux pas, but it cannot hurt if you accentuate your positives after a crisis. Reputationmanagement.com suggests discussing your philanthropy, social responsibility, industry advancements or strategic partnerships with media outlets. If it is done in a thoughtful way, it can help enhance your reputation after a PR crisis.  

Continuously monitor online brand mentions 

Brands like Applebee’s and CNN can have marketing teams that constantly assess their online reputation. While that might be difficult to maintain 24/7 vigilance for smaller companies, both are global corporations that could easily be on call 24/7 from different areas on the globe, monitoring web and social media mentions.  

References: 

Adkinson, E. (2022, February 25). Applebee’s pulls ads from CNN after controversial placement, when consumers say they want to shop in person and Patreon suspends Ukrainian NGO. PR Daily. https://www.prdaily.com/applebees-pulls-ads-from-cnn-after-controversial-placement-when-consumers-say-they-want-to-shop-in-person-and-patreon-suspends-ukrainian-ngo/ 

Cannon, M. (2019, October 24). Brand Stories: The Evolution of Applebee’s. Branding Times. http://www.worksdesigngroup.com/brand-stories-applebees-brand-refresh/ 

Considine, M. (2020, October 5). Reputation Protection: How to Protect Your Reputation Online. Reputationmanagement.com. https://www.reputationmanagement.com/blog/reputation-protection/ 

Shure, M. (2022, February 25). What Happened With That Applebee’s Commercial on CNN? The Takeout. https://thetakeout.com/applebees-commercial-cnn-ukraine-coverage-1848593393