A Fast Company article about a campaign for The North Face manipulating Wikipedia addresses the ethics and integrity (or lack thereof) of a brand.
« The North Face and its Brazilian agency Leo Burnett Tailor Made boasted about how the brand evaded Wikipedia editors to slyly embed the outdoor apparel giant’s products in high-traffic tourism pages… »
« Wikipedia immediately called out The North Face in a Twitter thread, accusing the brand of lying about collaborating with the platform. »
« Both, but particularly the agency’s response, are from the dry heave-inducing Sorry Not Sorry School of Apology. Just look at the first few seconds of that cringe-inducing case study video, a Google search of, “How can a brand be the first on Google without paying anything for it?” The goal was manipulation all along. Not just of Wikipedia, but of you and me. »
« We are in a time when brands are responsible for not just their ads, but their behavior overall. Everything a company does–every TV ad, retail store, political donation, and tweet–becomes a part of its brand. »
Articles of Interest 