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Hello, and welcome to this month’s Reputation Digest where Fire on the Hill delivers a run-down of the latest stories making waves in the communications sector. This month, comments from Campbell’s don’t go down well, Ben and Jerry’s board tussle with new owners, and Nigel Farage faces allegations of racism.
Campbell’s executive puts his foot in it
Most of us wouldn’t exactly describe Campbell’s as an aspirational brand. Nonetheless, insulting your core audience by calling them “f–king poor people” doesn’t seem like the best idea.
A recording has been released of Martin Bally, who was the vice-president of Campbell’s information technology department, doing exactly that, while also describing the company’s Indian employees as “idiots,” and claiming its soup contains “bioengineered meat.”
Campbell’s responded quickly by firing Bally and releasing a statement condemning the recording. Speed is always important in a reputational crisis, to control the narrative before it gets out of hand – but strategy is just as important, and some critics have argued that Campbell’s comments have served to worsen the situation.
One spokesperson commented that Bally didn’t truly understand the food because he works in IT, suggesting that not everyone at the company understands the product they’re selling. Even more significantly, Campbell’s response has centred on the content of their soup, rather than the customers and employees who were insulted.
If we’re being generous, the lesson here is to media train executives even if they aren’t active spokespeople, hammer home that they should stick to key messaging and avoid any negative statements. But really, it seems that the best solution is to hire people who believe in the brand in the first place.
Ben and Jerry’s fight for corporate values
A new interview from the BBC with Ben and Jerry’s co-founders has revealed that a years-long conflict is reaching a boiling point.
The ice cream company has been owned by Unilever since 2002, when it bought the brand under the condition that an independent board be established, aimed at protecting its social mission. There have been multiple clashes between Unilever and this board, perhaps most notably, a dispute over whether or not to sell ice cream in Israeli-occupied Palestine in 2021.
A spinoff from Unilever this December has created the world’s largest standalone ice cream maker, and Ben and Jerry’s is now owned by The Magnum Ice Cream Company. Under the new ownership, it was announced that directors serving on the board for more than nine years will be barred from re-election in 2026, effectively forcing out three long-standing board members. The company’s co-founder, Ben Cohen, called this a “blatant power grab designed to strip the board of legal authority and independence”.
For some, Ben and Jerry’s insistence upon clinging to the social values on which they were founded is a reminder of a bygone era where brands were forced to take a stand on broad social issues. These days, the playbook seems to recommend a different approach: stay out of the limelight and don’t take sides.
But for others, the success of Ben and Jerry’s over the years is itself a sign that consumers still buy from brands that align with their values. From this perspective, the attack on the independent board seems to be a clear attempt to strip the company of exactly what makes it stand out on the shelf (or in this case, in the freezer aisle).
Either way, the story shows the danger of conflicting ideas about an organisation’s corporate character, and what happens when they spill out into the public eye.
Racism allegations put Farage’s career under scrutiny
Nigel Farage is no stranger to criticism, about his policies, his political beliefs, and even his personality. Now, new allegations have emerged about the Reform leaders’ past.
Over twenty of Farage’s contemporaries at Dulwich College have testified that he repeatedly displayed racist and xenophobic behaviour while at secondary school. This behaviour ranged from Antisemitic songs and comments to intimidation of a much younger black student.
Farage has dismissed the alleged racism as ‘playground banter’ of a bygone era. This has not gone down well with either the public or the press. Farage and his team have also said that those making the allegations have misremembered as a result of the amount of time that has passed, or that some have targeted him for political reasons. He has refused to apologise for the comments, despite calls from MPs across parties calling for him to do so.
Nigel Farage’s reputation has long thrived on provocation, but these accusations of racism occupy a more complicated space than his usual political fireworks. He has spent years insisting that his stance on immigration is based on reason rather than race, whether it’s pressure on public services, wage competition, economic fairness, or a sense that British citizens are losing out in their own country. Now that standpoint becomes significantly harder to justify.
While the allegations will not sway his core supporters, it’s safe to say they may harm his wider political aspirations.
