Remember the State Farm ad with Rob Schneider we recently praised? Well, it was a pretty brief experiment as the insurance company has dropped Schneider from their marketing efforts due to his stance against vaccinations. Specifically, State Farm decided to move on without Schneider after they received a ton of criticism through social media about using an actor who stands firmly against vaccines.
Here’s what State Farm had to say about the whole ordeal:
“[Schneider’s] ad has unintentionally been used as a platform for discussion unrelated to the products and services we provide. With that, we are working to remove the ad from our rotation at this time.”
Considering the content of the Schneider ad, it’s a pretty big leap to connect the company with Schneider’s personal views. It’s even a bit unfortunate considering the ad itself and the concept of a continuing campaign was actually pretty strong. The ad served as a nice piece of nostalgia for SNL viewers and it was actually pretty funny. Maybe not as good as the original skit, but it was impressive how State Farm recreated the look and feel of the original.
This situation should serve as a reminder to all companies out there looking to use a celebrity (regardless of how minor) to pitch their goods or services that you need to do your homework and consider the worst case scenario when it comes to the celebrity’s history, background and views.
(H/T PR Week)
