The One Where Disney Gets It Wrong
I’m the biggest fan of Disney you’ll ever meet, but as a Louisianan and a Marketing Strategist at an advertising agency it’s hard for me to let this major social media blunder slide.
Gumbo No-No
On Monday, September 12, 2016, Disney’s official Facebook page for Princess and the Frog posted a recipe video for “Gumbo from the Bayou.” This “recipe” was definitely not your ordinary Louisiana Gumbo. It included odd ingredients such as kale and quinoa. The video also got flack for lack of basic Louisiana recipe rules such as starting with a roux.
Within 24 hours, the video had over 1 million views, 20,000 shares, and 7,000 reactions. While this may sound like great engagement numbers on social media, the majority of it was negative. Louisianans were not shy about what they thought of the recipe. Hilarious reaction videos were made and big Louisiana brands began to share the post leaving their own advice for a true Louisiana Gumbo recipe. The hashtag #gumbostrong began to surface on Twitter.
As a company whose brand identity is highly influenced by their effort to make their movies, products, and attractions as authentic as possible, it’s disappointing to see such a major slip up. It’s very obvious that Disney didn’t do their homework on this one.
In the end, Louisiana triumphed! Due to the influx in negative opinions, comments, and shares, Disney has since deleted the recipe video.
Lessons Learned?
Before jumping on an idea, do your research. Once it’s out there, it’s out there. This situation proves that no brand is completely invincible to mistakes on social media. While this is only a recipe video on Facebook, this blunder is directly affecting people’s opinions of not only Princess and the Frog, but the Disney Company as a whole. In my opinion, deleting the video was not the smartest idea. Owning up to the mistakes and acknowledging them is the best route for a brand to take.
I hope for the sake of Disney’s reputation they treat their social media posts with a little more TLC from now on.
Photo by Katherine Rose Photography
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Comments are closed.
Anonymous
September 14, 2016 at 2:05 amWell said!
Anonymous
September 14, 2016 at 2:05 amWell said!
Anonymous
September 14, 2016 at 2:05 amWell said!
BrittanyAnneF
September 18, 2016 at 4:15 amMy daughter has become recently obsessed with The Princess and the Frog and I wanted to make gumbo with her, but kale and quinoa?!? I have never been to New Orleans, but even I know that is ridiculous. Tiana would never put that in her dish!
BrittanyAnneF
September 18, 2016 at 4:15 amMy daughter has become recently obsessed with The Princess and the Frog and I wanted to make gumbo with her, but kale and quinoa?!? I have never been to New Orleans, but even I know that is ridiculous. Tiana would never put that in her dish!
BrittanyAnneF
September 18, 2016 at 4:15 amMy daughter has become recently obsessed with The Princess and the Frog and I wanted to make gumbo with her, but kale and quinoa?!? I have never been to New Orleans, but even I know that is ridiculous. Tiana would never put that in her dish!
Ivana J
November 6, 2016 at 10:16 amI would stare at that second photo forever, it is so fullfiled with love xo
https://theninebyivana.blogspot.com/
Meiah | My Crazy Hectic Life
November 6, 2016 at 10:26 amThis is completely true. I think we’ve all had a social media mess-up but you have to always consider your influence levels and try to prevent it from happening.
kittylimon
November 6, 2016 at 11:29 amI understand they were probably trying to make the gumbo appear healthier by adding ingredients such as kale and quinoa but at the same time they should stay true to the Lousiana recipes to some degree given that Tiana is proud of her heritage. Deleting the video was a wrong they should instead own up to their mistake and rectify it 🙂
miss-interpreted
November 6, 2016 at 11:36 amReally liked this one. Well said!
Heather
November 6, 2016 at 12:40 pmReally good point. Brands definitely need to be hyperconscious of what they post on social media, especially in an increasingly politically correct social-universe. Good points!
Rose Sahetapy
November 6, 2016 at 12:43 pmWhile I understand they try to present a recipe with a modern twist, but keeping the authenticity and the originality of the food is much more important. I think in the future they’ll much cautious when presenting a dish based on classic recipes.
Kintan
November 6, 2016 at 12:43 pmI think everyone can make mistake specially nowadays on social media. One is happened is difficult to take it back. Hope they can make thing clear and responsible for what happened.
Ree love30
November 6, 2016 at 3:44 pmOh no Disney Shame on you! ! I didn’t hear about this at the time but that video went viral so quickly! Ree love30
Mimi
November 7, 2016 at 10:12 pmAlways make research 🙂 Surprises are never fun, although that’s life – full of surprises even if you research! You guys look lovely 🙂
Sarah
November 8, 2016 at 1:54 amFacebook is full of inaccurate recipes videos! I can’t even count anymore how many wrong Italian food recipes I’ve seen shared by everyone. So I totally get how frustrating it can be when people don’t prepare your local food the right way.