Trausti
Illuminator
What faux righteousness? I'm simply pointing out the insanity of bowing to every idiot who is easily offended by anything, real or imagined.No, it just negates the faux righteousness of your last three posts.
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Go woke, go broke
- Thread starter Dr. Keith
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Thermal
August Member
And so there's no reason to lie about it and claim some fictional account as fact. Why not just tell the truth and work from there?
I'm not big on remote mind reading nameless, faceless others, so I can't comment much on that. What I can comment on is they had a point, and Converse agreed. It's kind of striking, but I believe wholly unintentional.
So what more needs to be said? Are there some nuts who will boycott Converse? I'm sure there are. Are there some people who want to alter the reality to generate their own brand of faux outrage? I'm equally sure there are. Are there some who think Converse made a mistake, and did the right thing and it's done and done? I'm positive there are, because I am one of them. So what team are you lobbying to be on?
SpuriusMaximus
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Anyway, my best guess is that stirring controversy was the whole point. I'll point you at the Keurig Effect again. Short version: it turns out to be free publicity. Instead of paying for more ads on YT and X, you let the dutifully enraged guys post a million posts about it.
(Here's my old longer post about it, so I don't have to copy and paste: https://internationalskeptics.com/forums/threads/the-keurig-effect.346023/ )
And Nike had had their spike in sales at least once with that strategy.
Of course, recently it started to backfire.
But yeah, I'm not convinced that any corporation actually went "woke". They just say whatever they think will drive their sales up.
(Here's my old longer post about it, so I don't have to copy and paste: https://internationalskeptics.com/forums/threads/the-keurig-effect.346023/ )
And Nike had had their spike in sales at least once with that strategy.
Of course, recently it started to backfire.
But yeah, I'm not convinced that any corporation actually went "woke". They just say whatever they think will drive their sales up.
Thermal
August Member
Ok, but that doesn't track. They put out an ad, that if you looked at it a certain way, looked bad. I don't think it was intentional, in that I can totally see someone not seeing it (some didn't here, till it was pointed out).
Is Converse some struggling startup with falling sales? No way. They are a well-known multibillion dollar iconic brand. They don't need exposure to become a household name. They've been one for a century.
But what are they now? An athletic footwear manufacturer? No. They rely almost exclusively on selling Chucks to quirky teen girls. It's almost the entirety of their sales, and still enjoying wild popularity with their target demographic, and no significant secondary market even exists (look at an NBA court- see much Converse out there?).
This kind of publicity would sour them on their target demographic, and not attract a new one, so there would be no benefit to generating this "buzz". And Converse went out of their way to NOT generate a buzz- They quickly and quietly laid it to rest, without fanfare. Just a lightning fast pulling of the ad, a brief sincere apology and then silence.
Converse is trying to keep this quiet, not hype it. Any hype can only make their leading product tainted to their primary market.
Great example of my point. Keurig was slumping and wasn't entirely a household name just yet. But I'm not sure if the surge was directly due to this issue. People loved their product, and still do. Before COVID, they had already started a recycling campaign for their spent pods (my SIL was filling bags with them). Im.pretty sure their sales arc would have gone +/- the same, with or without thr Fox ads. In 2017, they had built up enough to be advertising on national broadcasting in the US. Their name was getting out there, and the eco friendly trend was dying out. Keurig was all set to skyrocket in popularity on its own.
Ya, it failed spectacularly, with stocks currently in a death spiral despite incredibly high name recognition and sponsored pro athletes and all.
Agreed. But they can choose their target market to appeal to as well. Converse simply couldn't win by alluding they were Klan supportive. They would tank their brand irrecoverably.
The whole idea of "any publicity is good publicity" can work, with the right controls. It doesn't work randomly. Kanye is our primo example. He self generated controversy, and took a nose dive. His wealth is mostly sustained by the peripheral gigs from his former fame, not because he drew more sales from his antics. He lost sales.
SpuriusMaximus
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So was Gilette, when they decided to try that stunt.
Thermal
August Member
What 'stunt' are you referring to? Thr only thing I recall is that they got called out for jacking the prices on products targeted at women. Yeah, duh. I don't think anyone was unaware of that? Did their sales skyrocket or something? Were other variables controlled for or are we ignoring them to use tunnel vision and make their whole financial existence a one-issue deal?
SpuriusMaximus
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No, I mean their toxic masculinity ad.
Thermal
August Member
Ok. I had to google that one, no recollection of it.
Gillete apparently made some kind of "don't be a dickhead guy" campaign, and conservatives got all bent out of shape about it. Their sales fell following it, and as Google tells me: "Analysts note that the larger pressures on Gillette—including an $8 billion non-cash write-down in 2019—were driven as much by cultural trends toward beards and increased preference for cheaper disposable razors as they were by the ad backlash."
Soooooo... is this another example of that tunnel vision I was just talking about? Gillete is an iconic household name. They ran some campaign that the alt right took offense to (the alt right kinda relishes in being dickheads). What else happened?
SpuriusMaximus
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The Keurig Effect is all about causing some group to get triggered, and give you free publicity.
Thermal
August Member
You said that already. Repeating it doesn't address any of the questions or criticisms.
Thermal
August Member
Eta: I just googled Keurigs sales from 2011 onwards, and nothing you said was from this planet. Their sales went up every year during that time frame, save for a very small flattening in 2014. They had a big spike right after the Hannity event, but that was fueled by their merger with Green Mountain and Dr Pepper/ Snapple. Prior to that, they were considered a hyper growth company.
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SpuriusMaximus
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Look closer.
It's that spike in Q3 2017. It wouldn't be exceeded by normal growth until more than 2 years later. If you still don't see it, ask your optometrist for glasses
But yes, it's what caused some other companies too to try causing a controversy for publicity.
It's that spike in Q3 2017. It wouldn't be exceeded by normal growth until more than 2 years later. If you still don't see it, ask your optometrist for glasses
But yes, it's what caused some other companies too to try causing a controversy for publicity.
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Thermal
August Member
Well, yes, that's a chart (which doesn't indicate the falling sales each year preceeding the Great Hannity Event you claim). And the Great Hannity Event took place in November of 2017. Isn't that spike you claim I need glasses for in Q3, which ends in September? What were you saying about needing glasses?Look closer.
View attachment 76145
It's that spike in Q3 2017. It wouldn't be exceeded by normal growth until more than 2 years later. If you still don't see it, ask your optometrist for glasses
Also, it's a billion dollars in the systems claimed to spike, not their other products, which remained stable. Wasn't this about when they came out with the new V2 that made stronger brews and stuff? I might be wrong there, but a billion dollars in machines alone (that didn't exist before or immediately after) is hard to explain by the Great Hannity Event... which happened after the spike?
{Eta: if you were buying a new system as a result of the Great Hannity Event, you would need pods too, right? So why were pod sales still flatline on your anonymous chart? It was the machine only that showed increased sales, not the actual product that goes with it}
I googled around a bit, and no one else on the web seems to think this, nor does it recognize The Keurig Effect, except to question if i meant the D-K effect. Are we off on a ride on the Imagination Train?
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SpuriusMaximus
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And thankfully enough we do see a jump in gross margin in that fourth quarter of 2017: https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/KDP/keurig-dr-pepper/financial-ratios
It's higher than the next couple of quarters.
It's higher than the next couple of quarters.
Thermal
August Member
You're not addressing the fatal flaw in your entire posit. The spike I apparently need glasses to understand was in Q3, ending in September of 2017. The Great Hannity Event was in November of 2017. How are you arriving at this casual link, absent a â—Šâ—Šâ—Šâ—Šâ—Šâ—Šâ—Š Tardis?
Eta: and your own â—Šâ—Šâ—Šâ—Šâ—Šâ—Šâ—Š chart shows a slight dip in sales for 2017 Q4 (and in 2018 Q1, even more dippage), and doesn't bang up till the Green Mountain/Snapple merger in 2018. Nothing in your assertions is remotely from this planet, brah.
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Mojo
Mostly harmless
Doesn't sound unlikely.
Sooz Kempner on bsky, Sep 24, 2026
This is on Facebook and the comments are all "there, see, he just did it to GRIFT!" but they're also the sort of people who say "go woke, go broke" so I guess the always-offended-reactionary-right contain multitudes. 1/2
Nothing could be more woke than that slogan!
MAGA is probably already preparing a Dickhead Pride rally.
Jim_MDP
Penultimate Amazing
