The outrage of the day is Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company advocating that we give our “stolen land” back to the Indians:
This 4th of July, it's high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it. Learn more and take action now: https://t.co/45smaBmORH pic.twitter.com/a6qp7LXUAE
— Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) July 4, 2023
That is profoundly stupid on several levels, and it provoked predictable responses, for example:
Make @benndjerrys Bud Light again.
— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) July 4, 2023
Is Ben & Jerry’s one more in a long list of companies that have shot themselves in the foot by going woke? I don’t think so.
There is an important difference between Bud Light and Ben & Jerry’s. Bud Light is a mainstream product, in fact it was, pre-Dylan Mulvaney, the largest selling beer in the U.S. Its image was not in any way left-wing, nor were its customers.
Ben & Jerry’s, on the other hand, is a niche product. In the ice cream market there are five or six major players. In addition, there are countless local and regional dairies that produce ice cream. To say that the market is fragmented is an understatement.
Ben & Jerry’s, unlike Bud Light, has deliberately cultivated a left-wing image. It is anti-American, pro-socialism, “green” and anti-Israel. These woke stands have been an important part of Ben & Jerry’s marketing. Its audience is mostly woke, and its customers already knew and approved of the fact that Ben & Jerry’s is woke, too. This is a perfectly viable market strategy for a niche product.
So I don’t think Ben & Jerry’s committed a marketing blunder. I think they are trolling us. I suspect that the company’s marketers understand how idiotic the idea of giving the United States “back” to the Indians is. But they don’t care: they are cementing their appeal to an audience that shares their views–the more outrageous, the better. So our outrage is wasted on a company that is content with a solid profit margin on a product with a healthy share of a fragmented market and a loyal, woke customer base.
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