14 DAY TRIAL // They say that no publicity is worse than bad publicity, and that even negative media attention and even a bit of controversy can help sales, perhaps even more than a well-thought PR campaign. Well, that’s not always true, and New Zealand seafood giant Sealord found this out the hard way, after hiring Heidi Montag for a new series of ads.
The entire campaign has been scrapped after just one ad aired, after consumers reacted on social media, accusing the giant of using a “plastic” celebrity to sell their “real” food.
Luckily, Sealord has heard their cries of outrage and is willing to make things right again.
Bringing Heidi on board got consumers’ attention, but for all the wrong reasons
The idea of the campaign was actually one that had already proved to be successful on previous occasions: get a controversial reality star to mock themselves while delivering a very serious message.
In this case, Sealord got Montag, famous for faking everything in her life from her career to her divorce / marriage troubles and even her surgically enhanced body, to talk about what’s real, namely the company’s fish fillet from the freezer.
Sealord got to air only one ad with Montag before it was forced to pull the plug on the entire campaign. You can see it embedded below, at the end of this post.
The moment it aired, consumers went on social media (Twitter and Facebook) to point out that that which Sealord considered irony was nothing but a desperate bid for attention and ultimately a very ill-advised casting choice.
You can’t have a woman who underwent 10 surgical interventions in a day and then bragged to the media about it sell a “real” fish fillet product and expect people to get the “irony.” No one this “plastic” should ever talk about “real” products, angry voices said.
Sealord bows down to pressure
As enthusiastic as Sealord was at first about the idea of bringing Montag into the fold, as quick it was to drop her when they understood this wasn’t going to end well for them.
“Sealord products are made of real fish fillets, and are as delicious as fresh – but we need to get peoples’ attention, so asking their views with Heidi at the helm is a novel approach,” Head of Marketing and Innovation, Sarah Sandoval, said when they hired Montag.
They got peoples’ attention, but it was for all the wrong reasons, as they were made to realize.
“We heard you NZ!” the company says on its Facebook page. “You told us that you loved our REAL fish but not Heidi Montag. So, we listened and changed our TV Ad to star only REAL people. This goes to air on Saturday but here’s a sneak peek. Thanks for keeping us REAL.”
The promised sneak peak is also available below, under the Heidi Montag cheesy ad.
When she can’t keep a job in New Zealand, Heidi can officially say her 15 minutes are over, and with them, her entire career.
