My first WTF encounter with this happened last year, at DSEI (disclaimer: I wasn't dealing weapons): I saw a big missile company's promo video, churning out the usual "Innovation...dedication" buzzwords but, instead of showcasing the actual miltech, they were accompanied by footage of a Pride march and MLK.
Thing is, if Mark Zuckerberg donates a mil to BLM, he's technically an anti-racist activist. Right? You couldn't even dream of collecting that amount through Bandcamp fundraisers. So, are we down with Yorkshire Tea and Sainsbury's now? Are they on our side? No doubt much of this is the equivalent of tacking a "BLACK-OWNED BUSINESS" sign to your shopfront - I'm sure McDonalds would love the Black Bloc to unwind with a vanilla milkshake instead of trashing their windows - but it seems to have gone from 0-90 in the last week, and I'm wondering where it's heading.
My very possibly wrong and not-all-that-exciting take on this is that it's partly due to the shifting nature of corporate PR firms. They mainly employ young / out-of-college types who hop around from firm to firm, as they're very cheap to pay and it really doesn't take much experience. You don't even need to know much about the client, or what they do or produce, these days: you tell them what's trending, write up a release and get them to put their name on it.
So, in the early 2000s, 'corporate responsibility' was the big in-thing; you'd get these stories about the 50-year old guy who's worked there since he was a teenager and how the company supported him in his hour of yadda yadda, and how they added a wheelchair ramp. Later came the 'green' angle: the offshore sector's plagued by incidents of seafarers dying in onboard enclosed spaces, but you'd get this endless churn of releases about how some oil drilling company had installed solar panels on the roof of its HQ, demonstrating its commitment to the planet. I've heard ferry operators stressing the need to get behind Greta Thunberg, recognising her as a "valuable opportunity" when it comes to competing with budget/short-haul air travel.
Perhaps it makes sense that BLM's the next bandwagon. Young people entering the PR biz will be familiar enough with the jargon to convince CEOs to issue statements about 'dismantling white supremacy'. Where this leaves the likes of, say, Southall Black Sisters, or anti-capitalists in general, is anyone's guess, while we've got #solidaritea trending (assume this applies to the Indian workers picking it too?)
And then on to defunding the cops, and replacing them with community-based, progressive programmes. Are we going to see CEOs of these corporations invited to offer their opinions and contribute to policies? I mean, they did say they loathe the patriarchy, and they donated a hell of a lot of money through their new charitable tax dod...foundation. Are we heading into whacked out PKD territory, with Ben & Jerry-sponsored, privatised police agencies?
Be interested to hear anyone's thoughts. By the way, I'm no expert on this and am pretty much thinking out loud, so don't take any of the above as a statement or conspiracy theory.
Thing is, if Mark Zuckerberg donates a mil to BLM, he's technically an anti-racist activist. Right? You couldn't even dream of collecting that amount through Bandcamp fundraisers. So, are we down with Yorkshire Tea and Sainsbury's now? Are they on our side? No doubt much of this is the equivalent of tacking a "BLACK-OWNED BUSINESS" sign to your shopfront - I'm sure McDonalds would love the Black Bloc to unwind with a vanilla milkshake instead of trashing their windows - but it seems to have gone from 0-90 in the last week, and I'm wondering where it's heading.
My very possibly wrong and not-all-that-exciting take on this is that it's partly due to the shifting nature of corporate PR firms. They mainly employ young / out-of-college types who hop around from firm to firm, as they're very cheap to pay and it really doesn't take much experience. You don't even need to know much about the client, or what they do or produce, these days: you tell them what's trending, write up a release and get them to put their name on it.
So, in the early 2000s, 'corporate responsibility' was the big in-thing; you'd get these stories about the 50-year old guy who's worked there since he was a teenager and how the company supported him in his hour of yadda yadda, and how they added a wheelchair ramp. Later came the 'green' angle: the offshore sector's plagued by incidents of seafarers dying in onboard enclosed spaces, but you'd get this endless churn of releases about how some oil drilling company had installed solar panels on the roof of its HQ, demonstrating its commitment to the planet. I've heard ferry operators stressing the need to get behind Greta Thunberg, recognising her as a "valuable opportunity" when it comes to competing with budget/short-haul air travel.
Perhaps it makes sense that BLM's the next bandwagon. Young people entering the PR biz will be familiar enough with the jargon to convince CEOs to issue statements about 'dismantling white supremacy'. Where this leaves the likes of, say, Southall Black Sisters, or anti-capitalists in general, is anyone's guess, while we've got #solidaritea trending (assume this applies to the Indian workers picking it too?)
And then on to defunding the cops, and replacing them with community-based, progressive programmes. Are we going to see CEOs of these corporations invited to offer their opinions and contribute to policies? I mean, they did say they loathe the patriarchy, and they donated a hell of a lot of money through their new charitable tax dod...foundation. Are we heading into whacked out PKD territory, with Ben & Jerry-sponsored, privatised police agencies?
Be interested to hear anyone's thoughts. By the way, I'm no expert on this and am pretty much thinking out loud, so don't take any of the above as a statement or conspiracy theory.