‘The Feed’ Has Perfectly Skewered Every Hollow Brand Response To Black Lives Matters
"We wanted to make something that said 'I stand in solidarity with all those who mark for freedom and justice'. But also said, 'Hey I'm Garfield'."
Spare a thought for the brand marketers currently trying to avoid losing customers by expressing support for the Black Lives Matter movement while not inciting boycotts or calls of being insincere.
Given how limp most are — expressing vague, generally agreeable ideas like ‘say no to racism’ while not putting their purse where their mouth is — we’re sure the discussion in marketing meetings looks a lot like this The Feed SBS sketch, which see’s Garfield HQ try and show ‘solidarity’.
“The world is waiting to see how Garfield Incorporated is going to respond,” says one orange-shirted exec, launching a brainstorm for their social media post.
“We wanted to make something that said ‘I stand in solidarity with all those who mark for freedom and justice’. But also said, ‘Hey I’m Garfield’.”
It’s a hard balance, and a threw slogans are thrown around — Cat Lives Matter, I Hate Mondays… and cops! — before they land on the perfect post.
“This post… gives the idea of being progressive while somehow also mocking the movement,” they say. “It offers no suggestion for change or monetary donation. And most of all, it foregrounds the Garfield brand and puts this grassroots movement in the background. It’s perfect.”
Stunning. Watch the segment below, featuring Alex C Lee, Victoria Zerbst, Cameron James and Jenna Owens.