The twist is that those t-shirts and other merchandise bearing the message were marketed by the team itself following the on-air insult from prominent ice hockey commentator Don Cherry. Sales of the merchandise yielded revenue of $875,000, according to the Carolina Hurricanes Chief Marketing Officer.
Researchers at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, The University of Hong Kong, and Duke University analyzed this effect of a brand turning a profit by reappropriating insults hurled at it. The technique works, the study data indicate, when the usage projects brand confidence and a sense of humor. Consumers find both those attractive in persuasion appeals.
However, success requires that the insult be perceived by those consumers as unjustified—so not jeopardizing the brand’s claim of confidence; petty—allowing the brand to harmlessly joke about it; and not issued by a vulnerable person—so the reappropriation is not interpreted as bullying.
When these conditions are met, reappropriating the insult tends to work out better than ignoring the insult, denying the insult, or apologizing to the insulter.
Perceiving an insult as unjustified and petty may require understanding the broader context. Another example cited by the researchers of insult reappropriation is the posting in a Penzeys Spices store window of a sign reading, “‘Terrible overpriced product’ D. Trump.” The backstory here is that the quoted insult by presidential candidate Donald Trump followed a September 2024 visit by Vice President Kamala Harris to a Pittsburgh outlet of the business owned by Bill Penzey, a vocal critic of Mr. Trump.
As to the insulter not being viewed by consumers as a vulnerable person, holding political office isn’t always enough. It matters whether what’s being ridiculed is a characteristic of the politician which is in the politician’s control. In one study, French consumers were asked their intention to share a parody which ridiculed a characteristic of French President Emmanuel Macron. The controllable characteristic presented to some of the study participants was Mr. Macron’s arrogance. The uncontrollable trait presented to the other participants was Mr. Macron being married to an older woman. Mr. Macron had been widely derided for both characteristics.
Participants were more willing to share the parody when the theme was the controllable trait. Mocking an uncontrollable trait aroused discomfort.
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Image at top of post based on photo by Vitaly Gariev from Unsplash
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