A Wren Says

It is very likely that you are at least slightly aware of the recent controversy surrounding Ye (formerly known as Kanye West). A quick rundown of the most recent stuff:

• Debut of hoodies with “White Lives Matter” emblazoned on them
• Antisemitic tweets
• Promoting new theories regarding the death of George Floyd
• General outbursts that make people think, “What? Why? Huh?”

I’m not writing about any of that per se. You are left on your own to think out your opinion on the man and his actions. What I’m writing about today is the brand responses. Balenciaga, Gap, and Adidas have all publicly cut ties with him. It is possible that there are behind the scenes things happening that have led each group to end their contracts, but you have to at least consider all this controversy has something to do with it.

When a celebrity gets associated with a brand, they get associated with that brand. If a celebrity, or any major face connected to a brand, is out doing wild things, people start to associate what they think of that person to the brand. “Hmmm, (brand X) hasn’t said anything about (event). They must be okay with this.” Consider what the current image of Ye is. Is that how you want your global brand perceived?

Adidas, Balenciaga, and Gap have all been public about their commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). This includes trainings, hiring initiatives, and community work. Sticking with Kanye deeply contrasts with the efforts they have made in these areas. Keeping their contracts with him would make it look like all of their previous steps in DEI were just pretend. This could ultimately influence not just how consumers perceive them but also their employees and any potential hires do as well.

As much as the major announcements could be connected to the pursuit of human rights and being on the “right side” of an issue, this is ultimately an important step to protect their brand images moving forward.