"Uncontrolled or illegal immigration?" Please tell me where you saw this in the ad? If that's what you saw in the ad, then there is no pleasing you, so why bother trying? As for "when they thought Hillary was sure to be president and their aim was to address the perceived problem of an American staple, Bud, being owned by a foreign company," that's an even bigger issue under the Trump administration.
Sorry, I just edited that post to bring up the U&A studies that show that this isn't a hope that is realistic. Based on that research. I'll repost here: There have been U&A studies showing that people that feel good about your company don't necessarily buy more of your product. They continue to consume, but they don't over-consume simply because they like your company. However, these same studies show that people who get pissed off definitely decrease purchases and even stop altogether, switching to a competitor. Why risk that?
That's hardly the same thing. Although recognition of our LGBT community is an idea whose time has come, despite the misgivings of some of us older folks who were brought up in different times, the ads for Bud and Audi were NOT controversial. They were both about meritocracy. And anyone who is against the idea of meritocracy is arguably not truly American.
I'm just spit-balling, but perhaps they don't see it as a risk. Maybe it's about corporate image and building brand loyalty among those whom they regard as their key or target market. They may not buy more Audis or drink themselves silly on Bud, but they'll feel even better about the choices they made. Not all ads can be about the product's features, as you know. It gets boring if you want to keep ads on the air and the product in the intended market's consciousness. So you vary it. Product; feel; values. Repeat.
I'm not trying to draw a parallel to the issue, just that there was a management team at Target that thought it was a good idea and that there was upside to the decision. And they were very wrong.
Just guessing, but maybe younger, perhaps better-educated people with a progressive world view. And those who support it.
The people who agree with certainly feel better about the choices they made. But, as you say, they will probably not buy more. The people that it offends will buy less, or go to the competition. So I ask again, as a business owner/leader whose sole responsibility is to drive profit...why do it?
Then someone in the Audi department needs a lesson in demographics. Because younger folks are not their target audience (a premium car industry doesn't target young people).
Wise indeed. But I don't think the majority of ad campaigns by world class companies are conceived as impetuously as most personal social media ramblings.