The outrage!
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00:00 I'm definitely on DeSantis' side. Go woke, go broke.
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at companies that were targeted by boycotts after being perceived as supporting progressive causes.
00:12 Is this the best a man can get?
00:14 [Music]
00:16 [Music]
00:18 Number 10. Coca-Cola.
00:20 Coke is closely related to the American South.
00:24 The Coca-Cola company was incorporated in Georgia back in 1892, where it's remained ever since.
00:30 But Georgia lawmakers came under fire in 2021 due to a controversial election law.
00:36 Coca-Cola and Delta may be scared of Stacey Abrams, Joe Biden, and the left, but I am not, and we are not, either.
00:46 Purportedly to suppress voter fraud, the Election Integrity Act included various restrictions,
00:52 like requiring identification for absentee ballots and limiting the use of ballot drop boxes.
00:58 Critics argued that these restrictions were anti-democratic and discriminatory in nature,
01:03 making it harder for minorities to vote.
01:06 Numerous companies spoke out against the law, including Coca-Cola,
01:09 with CEO James Quincy calling it, quote, "a step backwards."
01:14 According to a poll by Rasmussen Reports, however,
01:16 52% of Republicans said that they were less likely to buy Coke products in response,
01:21 and 37% of Americans overall.
01:24 It means cancel culture and partisan activists are coming for your business.
01:29 They're coming for your game or event in your hometown.
01:34 Number 9. Nike.
01:36 The word "woke" originated in African-American English to describe awareness of racial injustice,
01:42 although it's expanded to include other social inequalities.
01:46 We have cops that are murdering people.
01:48 We have cops in the SFPD that are blatantly racist, and those issues need to be addressed.
01:55 One of the earliest attempts to break a brand over wokeness came in 2018,
02:00 with Nike's ad campaign featuring NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
02:04 So don't ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they're crazy enough.
02:08 Protesting racial injustice and police brutality,
02:14 Kaepernick had been kneeling during the National Anthem at games.
02:17 Nike's decision to then feature him in a campaign prompted outrage in some circles
02:22 and calls for a boycott.
02:24 Donald Trump weighed in, calling Nike's campaign a terrible message.
02:28 Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag,
02:33 to say, "Get that son of a b**** up the field right now, out."
02:38 However, sales actually increased after the campaign was launched,
02:42 as did the company's stock price.
02:43 Number 8. Marvel.
02:47 The MCU has enjoyed extraordinary success, but it's no longer printing money like it once did.
02:52 In recent years, Marvel has suffered diminishing box office returns,
02:56 with fans and critics alike criticizing the storylines and special effects.
03:01 There's also been a vocal backlash against the inclusion of more
03:04 diverse stories and, in particular, female leads.
03:15 In November 2023, the Marvels experienced the MCU's worst opening weekend ever
03:20 and has grossed just north of $200 million.
03:23 Various factors have been blamed.
03:26 Superhero fatigue, unfamiliar characters,
03:29 lack of promotion due to the Hollywood actor strike,
03:32 Disney+ users waiting for it to hit streaming,
03:34 and, of course, accusations of wokeness.
03:42 Audience reviews have been kinder, sitting at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.
03:47 Regardless, Marvel faces an uphill battle winning fans back in phases 5 and 6.
03:52 Number 7. Pepsi.
03:55 When it comes to PR disasters, it's hard to beat Pepsi's infamous "Live For Now" commercial.
04:01 Released in 2017, it shows Kendall Jenner walking through a protest
04:06 and giving a can of Pepsi to a cop.
04:08 The crowd cheers wildly as the officer drinks the Pepsi.
04:12 Because Pepsi is… awesome or something?
04:16 It felt inauthentic and like it missed the point,
04:19 with most criticism coming from the political left,
04:22 who accused PepsiCo of trying to cash in on the Black Lives Matter movements.
04:26 Viewers also took umbrage with the ad's thesis that drinking Pepsi cures all our social ills.
04:36 It was a huge mess and Pepsi pulled the ad after just one day.
04:40 Starbucks has attracted much controversy in recent years.
05:02 This includes accusations of discrimination, a ban of Pride Month decorations at some stores,
05:08 and the whole union-busting debacle of 2022.
05:11 In fact, 2022 was a rough year for the coffee giant in general,
05:16 as the company was also forced to close 16 locations in major cities due to safety concerns.
05:30 One factor was their open bathroom policy, which allowed the non-paying public to access
05:36 their restaurant's bathrooms, which reportedly resulted in an increase in drug use.
05:41 Kevin D. Williamson of the New York Post called this a "grand social justice gesture"
05:46 and "sentimental urban progressivism."
05:48 Starbucks remains the world's biggest coffeehouse chain.
05:51 The "Go Woke, Go Broke" cry really took off with Gillette in 2019.
05:59 When I saw that ad, I thought it was brave. I thought it's in line with the work that we as
06:03 men have to do. The company launched an ad campaign called "The Best Men Can Be,"
06:08 which tackled toxic masculinity following the #MeToo movement.
06:12 The initial video was called "We Believe" and it received a scathing online response.
06:22 Men and conservatives in particular condemned its "woke messaging," and it became one of
06:28 YouTube's most disliked videos. It also resulted in numerous memes,
06:40 including the "So There I Was" copypasta and "Bro, Not Cool" edits.
06:44 Gillette's parent company, Procter & Gamble, reported an $8 billion write-down on all Gillette
06:49 revenue six months after. While campaign critics cite the messaging, P&G blames the downturn on
06:55 competing products, currency fluctuations, and a limited use of razors by consumers.
07:01 Founded in 1977, Victoria's Secret became the leading name in lingerie,
07:10 a distinction aided by their famous annual fashion show. But since 2016, the company has
07:16 struggled in the face of competition, a consumer preference for athleisure, and damaging reports of
07:22 sexual harassment and discrimination. Perhaps most damaging of all ties were between then-CEO
07:28 Les Wexner and Jeffrey Epstein. The company ended their fashion show in 2019 and did away with their
07:40 iconic "Angels" in 2021 in favor of the more diverse and inclusive VS Collective. However,
07:48 the brand's revenue hasn't recovered. Some conservatives blame this on the rebrand,
07:53 while others cite that changes were made too late and felt inauthentic. The Victoria's Secret
07:58 fashion show returned in 2023, and the company remains North America's biggest underwear brand.
08:04 To celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in 2023, Target released a collection of merchandise,
08:15 including a swimsuit for transgender women. A rumor online claimed that the swimsuit was
08:20 being sold to minors. This was false, but nonetheless helped spark a boycott from
08:25 angry anti-queer groups over the Pride Month merchandise in general. Target reported threats
08:39 to employees and hoax bomb threats. The company's stock price tumbled 15% in addition to a drop in
08:46 sales. Citing employee safety, Target either removed the Pride displays or relocated them
08:51 to the back of the stores. People come here because they know they can't make their own
09:06 dreams come true. The Walt Disney Company is one of, if not the most powerful and successful media
09:12 conglomerates on the planet. But while they're responsible for many of our favorite childhood
09:17 movies and have bought the rights to most of the rest, some of their recent returns have been less
09:23 than stellar. There are some quantifiable reasons for this, like the loss of Disney+ subscribers
09:29 being tied to their loss of cricket streaming rights. However, outrage from right-wing groups
09:34 over inclusive stories, casting and messaging has also been blamed. Disney CEO Bob Iger addressed
09:41 this in November 2023, saying that he's instructed employees to prioritize storytelling over
09:48 messaging. Whether this helps Disney regain the success they once achieved remains to be seen.
10:00 "They're trying to infiltrate the children. You think about Disney, you think about kids."
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10:22 Number 1. Bud Lights. In April 2023, transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney
10:29 uploaded a promotional video to Instagram for Bud Lights. "This month I celebrated my Day 365
10:35 of womanhood and Bud Lights sent me possibly the best gift ever, a can with my face on it."
10:41 Anti-trans groups on the right were outraged. Fox News picked up the story and a boycott followed.
10:48 "They want to enjoy their beer without the debate." Kid Rock was particularly upset,
10:53 filming himself shooting Bud Light cases with a machine gun. The stock price of brewing company
10:58 Anheuser-Busch fell by 20 percent and the company later reported a 17.5 percent decrease
11:04 in U.S. sales, resulting in 400 people being laid off. "Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth saying
11:11 we never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of
11:15 bringing people together over beer." In the wake of the controversy, they also announced that they
11:20 would no longer be pushing Bud Light as their flagship beer. That distinction now belongs to
11:26 Michelob Ultra. What do you think of these cases? Let us know in the comments below. "I think it
11:32 needs to not be political from Disney's perspective. They need to be the happy place for families."
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11:49 [Music]