Social media has become a great tool to help company increase brand awareness rapidly. On the other hand, social media also could ruin the brand or the company. In 2016, Seoul Secret released an advertisement on YouTube which includes the slogan that “White is winning” in Thailand. In their opinion, black is ugly. Many people thought this ad is too racist. Therefore, Seoul Secret removed this video immediately and also issued a statement in order to apologize to the public. In this statement, they claimed full responsibility for this incident and said that what they intended to covey was not discriminatory or racist messages.
Firstly, the company react this situation quickly to make the apology statement. Timing is a key factor in social media. When the company recognized this ad is racist, their quickly response may remain the brand reputation and also reflect their full social responsibility. Second, on the statement, it written in two languages Thai, and English. It told customers that they are not only make an apology for Thai but also speak to the world.
I am from Asia, I could understand why they are saying the white is winner. Most of women in Asia think about white means more beautiful. However, the company needs to be aware of their language. No matter how you make the ad, you need to ask or think about what the reaction while customers saw this ad. If they could think this way, they probably could avoid this situation.
PR are more responsible to handle these crises. PR stands for public relations, they deal everything in public. Therefore, even though marketing could help company to gain sales, PR still play important role in the market.
Here is the advertising on Youtube!
Marketing! 