{"id":2398,"date":"2024-03-06T11:44:16","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T11:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?p=2398"},"modified":"2024-03-13T18:21:31","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T18:21:31","slug":"some-people-hated-the-depolarizing-heineken-beer-ad-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/06\/some-people-hated-the-depolarizing-heineken-beer-ad-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Some People Hated the Depolarizing Heineken Ad. Why?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2022, polarization researchers at Stanford studied a <\/span>Heineken beer commercial<\/span><\/a>, titled \u201cWorlds Apart,\u201d and found it reduced political animosity significantly. (To watch it, see <\/span>our first piece about this ad<\/span><\/a>.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Heineken first released the ad in 2017, it received widespread <\/span>positive reviews<\/span><\/a>. An <\/span>Upworthy piece<\/span><\/a> called it \u201csurprisingly great.\u201d A <\/span>Today.com piece<\/span><\/a> said it proved \u201cpeople from \u2018worlds apart\u2019 can still come together.\u201d A <\/span>political blogger<\/span><\/a> said it was \u201ccorporate social justice done right\u201d because it \u201cdoes not seek to preach any specific value or social outcome besides the importance of tolerance and mutual respect.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But reactions weren\u2019t all positive. Complaints that it was tone-deaf \u2014 and even dangerous \u2014 began to roll in. Shortly after they released the ad, Heineken removed it from their online channels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why were people critical of the ad?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

A LinkedIn post<\/a> described the ad as having a “dangerous problem.” A Medium piece titled \u201c<\/span>Heineken\u2019s New Ad Is A Terrifying Sham<\/span><\/a>\u201d argued, \u201cThe premise is ludicrous to the point of being insulting.\u201d A DailyDot piece was titled \u201c<\/span>Heineken\u2019s new ad is not that woke \u2014 it\u2019s actually pretty dangerous<\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At a high level, an overarching criticism was that the ad took a simplistic \u201ckumbaya\u201d approach to serious moral and political disagreements. Having a beer together, critics pointed out, may seem nice but won’t do much to help us bridge such major divides.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another criticism was that the ad gave credibility to views that are wrong or dangerous. For example, some criticized pairing a climate change believer with a climate change non-believer because it seemed to communicate their ideas were equally valid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some criticized the pairing of the transgender person with the transgender-critical person. Some objected that pairing was demeaning to the transgender person \u2014 and even potentially dangerous.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

People with these criticisms saw the Heineken ad as bad; they saw it as a failed effort, with a bad message.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, the large majority of people who watched it thought it was touching and positive. And, again, it was found to be extremely effective<\/a> at reducing political animosity (no small feat!). Aren\u2019t those major arguments in its favor?<\/span><\/p>\n

How strong is the case that this Heineken ad has a good message \u2014 and that people\u2019s positive feelings about it were justified? What might the criticisms be missing?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Filling in the gaps with assumptions?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Some saw the ad as naively suggesting that social interactions can solve major disagreements. But the ad doesn\u2019t communicate that. It merely shows us something <\/span>that we know is possible and that does happen<\/span><\/i>: People can connect and see each others\u2019 humanity, even when they hugely disagree on issues very important to them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was this basic fact \u2014 that we can connect with each other despite major disagreements \u2014 that pulled at people\u2019s heartstrings and made the ad so impactful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, the ad didn\u2019t state that the views of the people in each pairing were morally or intellectually equivalent. The ad\u2019s goal was to show people from \u201cworlds apart\u201d (the name of the ad) and that these chasms of difference <\/span>do<\/span><\/i> exist. We\u2019ll all have our thoughts on who\u2019s more right or wrong in these areas, but the ad isn\u2019t getting into that \u2014 it\u2019s focused on the connections of people on different sides of a vast chasm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Do we overstate the bad qualities of our \u201cenemies?\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n

When we\u2019re in conflict, we\u2019ll often have <\/span>very pessimistic views<\/span><\/a> of what our \u201cenemies\u201d are like. These visions will be based on the most extreme and hateful people we see on the \u201cother side.\u201d We\u2019ll tend to see \u201cthem\u201d as an all-the-same, monolithic mass, and not discern the complexity and nuance present in that group. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Violence against transgender people is a real and serious issue. But is it fair to see everyone who is critical of or who has questions about transgenderism or gender-related ideas as threatening or dangerous? After all, the man in the ad seemed open to seeing things differently \u2014 that was indeed what many fans of the ad appreciated about its message. All of us are capable of change, and often, <\/span>contact with others<\/span><\/a> helps us see things differently.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A related criticism of the ad was that it encouraged people to engage with people they think are dehumanizing or threatening. But this also seems to be a misunderstanding. The ad isn\u2019t encouraging people to do things they don\u2019t want to do or that they think are dangerous; it is merely showing examples of connection.<\/p>\n

The ad was carefully curated, as ads are. The real world is more messy. But again, the ad showed us something that is possible \u2014 and, according to contact theory<\/a>, even probable. It demonstrated <\/span>the power and potential of human connection.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Can we see each others\u2019 humanity and also strongly disagree?<\/span><\/h3>\n

On many issues these days, people perceive that harm is being done by the \u201cother side,\u201d which triggers many negative emotions. When that happens, we\u2019ll be upset by messages that tell us we can \u201cget along\u201d with our perceived enemies. We\u2019ll have visceral negative responses to messages that seem to humanize and create empathy for \u201cthem.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is an understandable and human response.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But we\u2019d argue that it\u2019s vital to a peaceful and just future to see the humanity of the people around us \u2014 even those we see as enemies. Often, we\u2019ll assume the worst about their motives. It\u2019s essential to see that the people around us have life experiences and backstories that contribute to their stances. Even for those people we\u2019re certain have bad intentions, they \u2014 like all humans \u2014 have the capacity for change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is called being \u201c<\/span>hard on issues but soft on people<\/span><\/a>.\u201d When we focus on judging <\/span>ideas<\/span><\/i> and not <\/span>people<\/span><\/i>, we get better at engaging with others \u2014 and even at persuading others of our views.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Human connection is how major social change usually happens. People who fear that engaging with people on the \u201cother side\u201d will \u201chelp the bad guys\u201d may be missing that <\/span>this is how we learn to respect<\/span><\/a> and live with each other. (And this may seem like a liberal-leaning pitch, but we\u2019d make the same arguments to everyone, including conservatives. Connection and dialogue help anyone who wants others to understand their views.)<\/span><\/p>\n

These are tough topics to talk about, especially in a short post. But we think it\u2019s important to make the case for seeing each others\u2019 humanity, avoiding <\/span>overly pessimistic views of each other<\/span><\/a>, and lowering contempt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And we can take such approaches while we work towards any political goal. Indeed, we\u2019d argue depolarizing, de-escalating approaches are <\/span>powerful tools for achieving any political goal<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Daniel F. Stone is the researcher who submitted the Heineken ad to Stanford to study (and he\u2019s also the author of <\/span>Undue Hate<\/span><\/i><\/a>, which we highly recommend). About the benefits of this ad, Stone said:<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the thousand people who watched the ad for the study, and the many more who watched it when we piloted and presented the study, I don\u2019t know of anyone who objected to the ad. Videos like this, that are found to reduce political animosity and increase empathy, might do a lot of good if widely promoted. It seems like a real shame that this one was canceled.<\/span><\/p>\n

Want to watch another video found to reduce political animosity? Check out <\/span>this video from Beyond Conflict<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Want to stay in the loop about toxic polarization? <\/span><\/i>Sign up for our newsletter<\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2022, polarization researchers at Stanford studied a Heineken beer commercial, titled \u201cWorlds Apart,\u201d and found it reduced political animosity significantly. (To watch it, see our first piece about this ad.)\u00a0 When Heineken first released the ad in 2017, it received widespread positive reviews. An Upworthy piece called it \u201csurprisingly great.\u201d A Today.com piece said…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":2399,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"collection_feed":[],"type_feed":[77],"class_list":["post-2398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSome People Hated the Depolarizing Heineken Ad. 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