Case Study: The Tide Pod Challenge

 

It started with satire...

        

The Tide Pod Challenge may have started with a satirical article that was posted in The Onion in December of 2015 titled “So Help Me God, I’m Going To Eat One Of Those Multicolored Detergent Pods.” Written from the viewpoint of a toddler that is determined to get what he wants, he points out that the Tide Pods look delicious and he wants to eat one. The problem, however, is not only with children, but also with many seniors, most battling dementia, that think the pods are candy and act on their impulse to eat one. 

The next potential influence towards the initiation of the challenge was a video by the internet comedy company, CollegeHumor, that depicts a young working man, who prior to leaving his office for the day, is enticed by the bowl of free Tide Pods sitting on the table. He contemplates eating one, eventually gives in to his craving, and ends up on a gurney being loaded into an ambulance. His final words are, "I don't regret it." Be aware this video may not be appropriate for young audiences. 

About the same time that the Tide Pod Challenge went viral in early January, 2018, Tide Pod memes began to pop up on social media fueling the challenge. 

Via Shape.com

Via PopCulture.com

Within the first 15 days of January, there were 39 cases of laundry pod ingestion and the numbers increased from there. This was not a new phenomenon, however. Tide Pods and other laundry detergents had been injuring and killing people for years. 

"Between 2011 and 2013, the number of annual emergency department visits for all laundry detergent related injuries for young children more than tripled, from 2,862 to 9,004." 

-Jake Meth, Fortune Magazine

Pre-Crisis Intervention Fail...

Proctor & Gamble (P&G) was aware of this issue since they launched the pods in 2012. In fact, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a parental warning in 2013 about the dangers of laundry pods. While case studies and articles written about P&G's management of the viral challenge state that it was an unpredictable crisis, the company's previous knowledge about the increasing number of ingestion incidents and the inherent dangers of consuming a poisonous product should have spurn them to address the packaging problem years earlier. In an attempt at social responsibility, they did add a bitter tasting coating to the pods and made the pouch harder to open for little hands, but the corporation consistently failed to address the appeal factor. The warning signs were apparent and growing by the day, only P&G refused to take action. Even though backlash pressure was growing, their denial blew up into a full blown crisis beginning in January 2018. 

 

The Crisis Emerges...

As soon as the challenge went viral, Tide posted a Twitter video featuring New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski addressing the issue.

What should Tide PODs be used for? DOING LAUNDRY. Nothing else.

Eating a Tide POD is a BAD IDEA, and we asked our friend @robgronkowski to help explain. pic.twitter.com/0JnFdhnsWZ

— Tide (@tide) January 12, 2018

 

The company immediately worked with Facebook and Instagram to remove posts showing the misuse of Tide Pods, and YouTube quickly deleted challenge videos, which violated their terms of service anyway. P&G's CEO, David Taylor, issued a statement on January 21, 2018, in which he shared his experience of being a father and the difficulty of raising teenagers who want to make their own decisions. 

"Ensuring the safety of the people who use our products is fundamental to everything we do at P&G. However, even the most stringent standards and protocols, labels and warnings can’t prevent intentional abuse fueled by poor judgment and the desire for popularity." - David Taylor

With the 2018 SuperBowl quickly approaching, P&G scrambled to determine if a last minute pull of their commercial would be of benefit in an attempt to save their brand. The SuperBowl advertisement and subsequent commercials featured American actor David Harbour in its “It’s A Tide Ad” series, which played on other SuperBowl advertisement clichés. 

2018 SuperBowl commercial "It's A Tide Ad"

In a genius move, P&G created memes of their own that mocked eating Tide Pods, ultimately turning the challenge into an insult. 

Via Know Your Meme

Via Know Your Meme

 

“We obviously know that [eating pods] is stupid, but what we’re starting to see in the social media space is that the meme is shifting a bit, especially as it’s harder to get attention for actually eating them,” she said. “Now, a way for me to insult you is to suggest you might eat a Tide pod.”
- Jen Golbeck, professor and director of the Social Intelligence Lab at the University of Mary.

 

The Recovery...

P&G's efforts paid off and the brand did not suffer because they were proactive, rather than just reactive. In fact, sales increased so much that Tide had its highest number of customers in over a year.

 

Evaluation...

Based on Benoit's Image Restoration Theory, P&Gs CEO shifted the blame to the poor judgement of young people who wanted to gain some type of internet fame from participating in such a challenge. Then using PSAs and comedic memes to focus on the good intentions of Tide as a laundry detergent, they evaded responsibility and bolstered their image. However, they have not taken corrective action towards what put them in this situation. The video by CollegeHumor, referenced earlier, points out that the imagination draws on the bright colors and squishy texture of the pods to the point that the mind thinks they will be delicious. The problem is that the pods are still appealing, both physically and aesthetically. Because of this, P&G is still in pre-crisis mode and they will be until they address the lure of the packaging.

 

Via Getty Images