Woke Disney is in a world of hurt with its brand, now “on par with politicians,” according to media strategist Giancarlo Sopo.
Sopo notes that he’s “tested A LOT of brands” and so he “cannot emphasize enough how abysmal these numbers are for them.”
Disney enjoys a name ID of 100%. In other words, virtually everyone knows what Disney is and what the company does. For most companies, that kind of recognition is money in the bank — although it occurs to me now that Disney’s universal recognition might be part of what’s hurting them.
Because Disney, according to Sopo, went from a +56 favorability rating to +3.
I must take a moment here to give a special pat on the head to Peter Schorsch, the publisher of Florida Politics.
Schorsch actually tried to put a positive spin on Disney’s collapse.
“The Mouse > The Governor” was his take “because Disney edges out Ron DeSantis in popularity.”
Sopo explained that DeSantis is “on par with one of the best known (and formerly beloved) brands in the world.”
“A non-political entertainment company’s rating should NOT be comparable to that of a high-profile politician.”
Or as Twitter wit Razor put it: “Century-old billion-dollar corporation that spends tons on marketing barely more popular than divisive politician is not the win you think it is.”
Pat, pat. Run along now, Peter.
Those of us on the Right like to say, “Get woke, go broke,” but sadly it isn’t always true. Sometimes I wonder if it’s true at all.
Levi’s is notoriously woke. So much so that earlier this year, the company’s President of Brand Marketing showed herself the door. Former Olympic gymnast Jennifer Sey rose through the company’s ranks and was widely expected to serve as its next CEO:
Levi’s parted ways with Sey because they couldn’t bear one particular political position she took on her personal social media accounts. They offered her $1 million in severance money, which would have presumably come with a non-disclosure agreement, but she turned it down so that she could tell her story.
It was just silly in 2016 when Levi’s advised customers to never wash their jeans, but it’s quite serious in 2022 when the company shunts a valuable employee because she deviated from woke narrative.
And yet, Sey is out a million bucks and Levi’s is still going strong.
ASIDE: I don’t know why Levi’s is still around. I wore nothing but their classic 501s for three decades but switched to other brands when I finally woke up and realized how cheap their materials and construction had become.
Coca-Cola got in hot water last year when it was revealed that their diversity training materials urged employees to “be less white.”
Although the company quickly backed down, at least temporarily.
But what Coke and Levi’s have in common — along with more Fortune 500 companies than I care to admit — is that they support woke causes with dollars given to them by unwary consumers who just don’t know about all this dangerous nonsense.
Not a one of them has really changed their ways, and not a one of them has gone broke to the best of my knowledge.
But Disney might be different — not that I expect them to file Chapter 11 any time ever.
The thing is, Disney messed with kids.
The company that gave us Mickey Mouse, The Lion King, Space Mountain, Snow White, The Jungle Book, and that truly wonderful world on TV every Sunday night …
… they messed with our kids.
Investors have noticed, as PJ Media colleague Chris Queen wrote: “Disney’s stock has performed poorly over the past several months, dropping 30% over the past year.” That makes Disney the worst-performing big-cap stock of the year.
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Republican and Democrat parents alike were horrified when they learned about the woke education going on in bluer-than-blue Loudon County, Virginia. They made their feelings known in last year’s election, putting Republican Glenn Youngkin into the governor’s office barely a year after the state broke big for Presidentish Joe Biden.
Message: Don’t mess with our kids.
That’s why, in my opinion, Popo says that Disney’s favorability collapse is “nothing short of a travesty” and “an entirely a self-inflicted wound.”
Americans will put up with a lot of political nonsense, in no small part because we’re savvy enough to know that most politics is nonsense.
But don’t mess with our kids.
How could a once-beloved, kid-friendly entertainment company not know that?
Simple: Disney let the wokesters take over, and now the company’s long-term prospects are so diminished that investors have spent months shouting, “Sell! Sell! Sell!”
Because they messed with our kids.