Okay, it’s 2018, y’all. If you (or a business) does something wrong, the people of social media WILL call it out. Because we can. And while most businesses do genuinely have good intentions when it comes to rolling out new ad campaigns, sometimes what we’re seeing is obviously them missing the mark (maybe even on purpose), holding on to the phrase that, “any press is good press.” Well, if that’s the case, then Lean Cuisine sure is killing it on the social spectrum right now after their most recent digital campaign hit the internet and straight up bombed.
The initial post featured a simple caption, “Lean Cuisine has always supported women and their ambitions. What does having #ItAll mean to you?”
This was accompanied with a video to market their product, one that attempted to encourage women to redefine what it means to have “it all.” It featured a handful of women shopping at a made-up store called ItAll, where they chose things they wanted in life, throwing emphasis on the sacrifices that came with these things they valued. While this angle had good intentions (the point was the focus on the power of female relationships) , they ended up spending a lot more camera time on the women’s choices of children and relationships, heading down a slippery slope of outdated gender norms.
For the most part, viewers thought even the idea of “having it all” was very outdated. A quick Twitter search using the official hashtag #ItAll shows the mixed (but majority negative) reviews of the campaign. Enjoy the drag.
Having #ItAll would include my entire sex not being targeted by condescending ad campaigns for shitty diet food that would never in a thousand years be presented this way - or even presented at all - to men https://t.co/YXM0jae3XB
— sloane peterson fan account (@anneDEMME) May 25, 2018
"Remember when we body-shamed you guys into attempting to survive on child-size rations of food? We did that to nourish female friendship. Don't forget to use the good & memorable hashtag #itall"
— Hot Take Appreciator (@IHateNYT) May 24, 2018
oh hey having #ItAll means not buying frozen meals based on whether they'll bring my body closer to an artificial ideal that prioritizes the appearance of female fragility over traits like strength, compassion, and courage, which define the *actual* kind of woman I want to be pic.twitter.com/O79kS5Bpkb
— Blair Braverman (@BlairBraverman) May 24, 2018
oh I guess I'd have to say that to me, having #ItAll means microwaving 250 calories of frozen protein cubes in artificial sugar sauce and eating it over the sink while crying pic.twitter.com/ceGrqDxYGp
— [email protected] why not (@rebeccawatson) May 24, 2018
I will say that the amount of jokes that have stemmed from this hashtag is also impressive. Twitter (per usual), had a field day with this, so I must add in a few of my favorite LOLs.
[FACEBOOK_IA_AD_TAG_1]
Having #ItAll means watching the fallout when a company's social media team just assumes people will use their hashtag for its intended purpose pic.twitter.com/pn3forDLJB
— Mrs. Obed "Black Lives Matter" Marsh (@Pththya_lyi) May 24, 2018
#ItAll Lean cuisine's marketing and PR team right now. 😂 pic.twitter.com/VRTZ8iG18j
— Emma Engdahl (@zuzuengdahl) May 24, 2018
Having #ItAll is enjoying your sandwich at the TSA checkpoint AND STILL romantically stopping your man before he gets on that plane to Cleveland 🍋 BOOM - Lemon out! pic.twitter.com/nrdbNRb3uK
— 30 Rock (@30Rock) May 24, 2018
Hopefully, Lean Cuisine learns a lesson or two from this.
