Here are two brands making a stand against Donald Trump’s policies and executive orders – Diesel and Airbnb.
There will be people in USA who will boycott both brands. That’s going to happen. And yet, despite that, these brands know that being true to who they are and what they believe is more important than being all things to all people.
First the Diesel spot, MAKE LOVE NOT WALLS, directed by David LaChapelle:
Then the Airbnb spot, WE ACCEPT, which they aired during the Super Bowl a couple of weeks back:
While the Airbnb spot looks like it’s been pulled together pretty quickly, it comes right out of their heart and brand purpose.
Airbnb’s brand essence is “Belong anywhere”. And they walk their talk. For example, when you first sign up for Airbnb you have to agree to this statement:
If you “decline”, you cannot use or host Airbnb. Wow, talk about making a stand. And when Trump signed his executive order on immigration in January, Brian Chesky (CEO of Airbnb) took to Twitter with this tweet:
Yep, that’s the CEO of Airbnb telling people to contact him directly if they need housing. His tweet was liked more than 187,000 times, and retweeted 110,000 times. Airbnb has since launched an emergency program to house refugees and stranded Muslim travellers for free, with tons of people responding to the appeal.
Personally I admire and love brands that are true to themselves and their values, and are not afraid to make a stand even in the face of opposition and adversity. And yet, as an Australian, I am left struggling to think of an Australian brand or two that’s prepared to stick it’s balls on the line for what it believes in and stands for.
