A Lesson in Risk Reduction From Dodge's Invisible Monkey
Dodge's response to PETA's complaint about its use of a chimp in a commercial -- it removed the monkey and reshot the ad with a sarcastic voiceover about an "invisible monkey" -- shows that if activists send your company lemons, make lemonade. The new "invisible monkey" ad has gone viral, turning a rote dealership promo into a darling of the blogosphere. It's even warranted its own willfully misleading Taiwanese news re-enactment animation.
People seem to love the new ad in part because Dodge both bowed to Peta and flipped them off:
The first one was just meh, monkey joke. The revision is an act of surreal genius, and a giant finger to PETA pantywringers.I doubt PETA will complain. It got what it wanted. And it might draw some attention to the fact that Dodge and its agency, Wieden + Kennedy, should have known better: Dozens of major ad firms have promised not to use great apes in advertising because they're often tortured during their training.
Companies are often fearful when dealing with consumer criticism or potential controversy. The stock responses are silence or an immediate retreat (Exhibit A: Hewlett-Packard). Dodge shows this need not always be the case, and that if you get lucky you can use it to your advantage.
Spirit Airlines did something similar when it began charging a $45 carry-on bag fee, which consumers hated. Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza filmed a spot in which he jammed himself into an overhead luggage bin and explained that the carry-on fee allows the airline to charge lower overall fairs and reduces cabin baggage crowding.
The point is that not every consumer complaint needs to be handled with silence or corporate apologies.