“Ew”... “Jerks”... Why Some Insults Do More Good Than Damage to Your Brand

Finding a marketing goldmine in unexpected situations

Do you take negative feedback with a pinch of salt, or do you react with fervor even at the risk of losing goodwill and customers’ business? Most brands will find themselves the subject of questionable public scrutiny at some point or another, with unfiltered social media channels fuelling unwarranted insults. Common responses include denying the accusations, ignoring them completely, or accommodating to the situation, even apologizing for no real cause.

It seems there’s a better way to handle these tricky situations by turning them to your advantage. That’s what the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team chose to do in 2019. They became famous for celebrating a win with playful antics on the ice (like a limbo line) once the losing team left the arena. Their fans loved it, but one sports commentator found it patronizing, calling them “a bunch of jerks” while on air. In a genius move, their marketing team scrapped the apology and embraced the jibe. “Bunch of Jerks” became their slogan, printed on T-shirts and other merchandise that sold out in a flash, generating over $875,000 in revenue.

Bunch of Jerks merch as posted by the Carlina Hurricanes on their X account 

This is why reappropriation works well in some contexts, according to recent experiments run by a team of marketing professionals at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the University of Hong Kong, and Duke University. They exposed thousands of participants to various Facebook ads where fictitious brands responded to made-up online insults in different ways. The findings demonstrate that when you are hit with unfair, disparaging comments, a light-hearted and assured response is your best option; but only when the insult is not warranted, even absurd, or not really problematic.

The Psychology of Reappropriation in Action

We’re all used to seeing brands apologize or ignore criticism, especially online reviews. How they respond to such affronts and slurs usually bears a lot of weight on the outcome.

When you own the insult and make it part of your brand identity, it sends a different signal to the audience: it invokes confidence and humor. Consumers will believe that you firmly know your values, who you are, and that you don’t need approval. Humor lowers resistance, making people smile and potentially turning their hostile views into acceptance. 

Both these perceptions influence the ‘like and trust’ factor linked to your business name. In consumers’ minds, self-labeling with a negative term shows that your brand is authentic, bold, and quite fun. You’re laughing at yourself before anyone else does; in a strategic way.

How to Apply It to Marketing

Make that unfair label part of your story. It’s an opportunity to be perceived as a name with an authentic and strong personality. It’s important first to identify the nature of the insult. It has to be harmless, unfair, exaggerated, or silly (like “jerks”), and not questioning your morals (e.g., “sexist”). Next, use a tongue-in-cheek tone to show you’re on the joke: no need for explanations or to defend yourself. You must show certainty in your approach. Be proud to incorporate the negative label into your branding: from social media posts and ad slogans, to merch and signage. This usually creates a community around the apparently hurtful label, your unexpected move likely to generate viral attention.

A North Carolina restaurant, “Luna”, was accused of engaging in “satanic activities” by a customer unhappy with the mask mandates. The owner chose not to argue or to find an explanation for this absurd taunt; instead, he capitalized on it, printing the comment the “Satanic Activity” on T-shirts, which increased his social media engagement tenfold, as well as his monthly order volume.

Let’s also remember Crocs, the footwear often mocked as “ugly” or “ugly clogs”. They welcomed and adopted the “ugly”, turning their quirky designs into a fashion statement. Crocs have become a trend across generations, not a laughing stock by any measure.

Back in 2009, Domino’s Pizza was heavily criticized for its “cardboard-like” quality. In response, they created the “Our Pizza Sucks” campaign, being open about their flaws, but also showing how they improved. The transparency and humor helped them achieve a complete turnaround in brand perception and trust, reflected in financial terms. 

The reappropriation worked in these cases because it involved mild negativity, often playful or over-the-top. There was not a case of highly immoral or ethical havoc. Companies showcased self-awareness, and then delivered on underlying value (e.g., improvement in product quality, or embracing a unique product attribute). The result was emotional engagement, humanising the brand.

The final effect of this tactic will depend on how successful you are with employing humor, and how confident you seem in your effort to build a strong identity and a community around it. This strategy needs to be handled with care in order to become a point of difference, and not a case of PR crisis. 

Takeaways: limitations and future scope

This research highlighted how the reappropriation of insults elicits greater engagement and interest compared to all other response alternatives (ignore, deny, apologize) but only when there is a highly positive perception of brand humor and confidence. When it happens, both luxury and non-luxury brands benefit from increased interest.

When the brand's morality is implicated (the insult seems relatively or fully justified) the tactic backfires. While stigmatized social groups may be known to ‘take their power back’ by self-labeling insulting comments, brands are not perceived to be disadvantaged; on the contrary. Hence, when you decide to own a negative public affront, you must ensure the latter is of a benign nature, not legitimate in terms of ethics or product functionality, and not harming a vulnerable group (e.g., the elderly, people with a disability, or LGBQTQ+ members). That would be associated with a bullying attitude. An apology or some form of corrective action would work better in that instance.

Any correlation between customer loyalty and the effectiveness of insult reappropriation hasn’t been researched yet. That may influence a difference in attitudes. The brand's personality might give a different shape to the final outcomes, as well as the culture it is part of, the repeated use of this strategy or all other aspects of the insult and the insulter. This sets the tone for further examining of how successful reappropriation can be as a reputation management tool across a variety of industries and contexts.

As discovered during this recent research, as well as applied by some brands on the market, reappropriation can achieve real buyer behavior change in terms of greater advertising click-through rate, more social media engagement or merchandise sales, and increased brand choice. Use it wisely, and you may turn mockery into momentum. Next time someone calls your brand “jerks” or says “ew…” to your product, respond with smile and print it on a T-shirt.