No, the Israel-Hamas war is not a diet plan, or any other marketing gimmick
Inboxes are cluttered with Israel-Hamas war clickbait. Illustration by Mira Fox
By Mira Fox December 5, 2023
Even though the war between Israel and Hamas has dominated the news for two months now, if you go to the websites and social media profiles of many brands and influencers, you’d have no idea; they’ve continued to blithely post about skincare or sweaters or their trip to Cyprus.
To be fair, plenty of companies made statements after the attacks, mourning the death of Israeli civilians, but their lack of statements about the loss of Palestinian life has caused harsh criticism. As it turns out, silence might be the safer course of action. And both are definitely better than the third option: mining the war for marketing gimmicks or clickbait.
It seems as though it should go without saying that the war, which has had a horrific human cost, should not be a hook for some slick copy about your amazing new startup. And, indeed, a lot of companies paused ad spending, and PR experts advised holding off on pitches. But not everyone listened. And that’s led to some questionable choices.
A war for, uh, ad space
One email, posted to X, compared the war on the ground to the “ones that are fought every day in the realm of digital marketing.” The marketing wars, it continued, are “less about territory and more about visibility,” but “the principles of strategy, resilience and adaptability remain.”
To be entirely fair, there are digital elements to the Israel-Hamas war; a narrative battle parallels the physical one. So maybe that metaphor isn’t so bad — though seeking public support in a war is still pretty different than figuring out where to place an ad for a Wendy’s.
Hamas’ newest war front? Google reviews
For many, the war is always top of mind, and that means a few unfortunate comparisons might slip out.
But that doesn’t make complaints about a lack of toilet paper the same as Hamas’ terrorist attack. Allow me to explain.
The Google reviews for a New Jersey wedding venue called the Art Factory are full of complaints over rude management, dirty bathrooms and even leaks in the ceiling. Instead of apologizing, the venue clapped back, replying to numerous individual negative reviews by hurling insults and labeling them “an organized attack like Hamas.” Though they’ve since edited out references to the terrorist group, I think it’s fair to conclude that at least the reviews accusing the venue of tastelessness are probably correct.
Israel and the couch industry
On Oct. 19, “leaders across the home furnishings industry” assembled, with the help of the Anti-Defamation League, to condemn Hamas’ attack on Israel. Their statement isn’t bad, exactly — but it is undeniably odd.
The ADL announced the partnership on Twitter, though there was no similar announcement about the numerous financial, media and tech companies that have also condemned Hamas’s attack, which include giants such as Amazon and Bank of America.
The statement from the furniture companies says that “as an industry, we remain committed to working together to eliminate hatred and bigotry in all forms.” It’s a nice sentiment, but personally, I’m not really convinced that couches have much to do with the war.
War: the hottest new fad diet
In one of the worst instances of all, an article published in The Jerusalem Post encouraged Israelis stressed by the death, the air raid sirens and the war at large to capitalize on the situation for, yes, weight loss.
The article, published Nov. 5 and written by Israeli doctor Raz Hagoel, who runs a weight loss clinic, was originally published in Hebrew on the Post’s sister site Walla News, and automatically translated into English.
“Coping with the realities of this war has caused widespread stress and anxiety, which can contribute to weight gain,” it begins, before encouraging people whose stress response might cause a loss of appetite to lean into it.
The newspaper quickly deleted the article, but not fast enough — it went viral on social media immediately. People were, understandably, not fans.
Some of the advice is OK, I guess, such as pointing out that exercise can reduce anxiety. But war isn’t really a great fitness plan.
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