Disney just cannot catch a break these days! Hot on the heels of the recent Miley Cyrus Vanity Fair drama comes news of this racy Disney billboard in Beijing.
The billboard shows a girl that looks about 10 or 11 years old in skimpy underwear playing with Minnie Mouse hand puppets. While not explicitly sexual, the ad on busy Xinjiekou Nandajie Avenue sends a negative message to little girls. The presence of the Disney logo on the upper left corner of the billboard ensures this is an official billboard.
"It has caught us totally by surprise," Gary Foster, a spokesman for Disney's consumer-products division claims. "We have literally hundreds of licensees making our products. They are supposed to submit any kind of imagery to us before it is used, but it's hard to enforce that sometimes."
Trend Hunter recently featured a controversial Hanes underwear campaign that was later disowned by the company. Hanes claimed it did not approve the ads which were created by one of its licensed partners in India. I think brands should start paying close attention to how their name is marketed and used. They can not keep playing the "we did not approve it" card when it is produced by one of their own partners and reap the benefit of free exposure.
See the controversial Hanes ad and Miley VF shoot below:
Controversial Billboards
Disney Ad Shows Little Girl in Lingerie
Trend Themes
1. Brand Responsibility - Brands should start paying attention to how their name is marketed and used to avoid negative press and damaged reputation.
2. Controversial Advertising - Advertisers need to be more mindful of the message their ads send and how it may impact their audience.
3. Socially Inappropriate Imageries in Advertising - With the rise of social media and stricter consumer backlash, advertisers need to be more careful than ever when creating marketing campaigns.
Industry Implications
1. Advertising - The advertising industry needs to be more accountable for the imagery and messaging they promote on behalf of their clients.
2. Licensing - Licensing companies need to enforce stricter guidelines on collaborators so as to prevent unauthorized or inappropriate use of brand names.
3. Marketing - Due to the popularity of social media and instant feedback from consumers, marketing industries need to be more advanced in anticipating potential negative feedback and reevaluating their campaigns before production or deployment.