3 lessons from the ‘Baby Daddy’ card firestorm

It’s a lesson all communicators should take to heart: Know your audience.

A greeting card that was intended as a flippant, quirky Father’s Day offering insulted some shoppers as they looked for cards that represented themselves.

CBS reported:

American Greetings, the world's biggest’s [sic] producer of greeting cards, says an attempt at being "playful" missed the mark, and as a result it's pulling a Father's Day card from retail shelves nationwide.

The card in question, sold at about 5,300 big box, drug and grocery stores across the country, shows a black couple kissing with the phrase "Baby Daddy" in the forefront. Inside, the card reads: "You're a wonderful husband and father—and I'm so grateful to have you as my partner, my friend, and my baby daddy! Happy Father's Day."

Shopper Takeisha Saunders found the card offensive and shared her anger on Facebook:

Saunders’ post attracted plenty of attention, and Target promised to pull the card from stores.

CNN reported:

After her post attracted attention—and complaints from others—Target issued an apology and said it was pulling the card from its stores.

"We want all guests to feel welcomed and respected when they shop at Target. We were made aware of some concerns about this card last week and are working with our vendor to have it removed from Target stores," said the statement, which Target sent to CNN. "We appreciate the feedback and apologize. It's never our intent to offend any of our guests with the products we sell."

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The card company American Greetings also apologized in a tweet:

Thank you for raising this concern and bringing it to our attention. This card was intended to be a playful husband card, but we have notified the product team that it missed the mark. Please accept our sincerest apologies and know we will do better in the future.

— American Greetings (@amgreetings) June 13, 2018

The organization got more specific in an emailed statement to CBS News.

CBS shared:

American Greetings said that the discussion wasn't taking the wording inside the card into account, saying the copy makes clear that the card was "created for, and addressed to, a loving husband."

"However, we now see that the front page, taken out of context, can communicate an unintentional meaning that we are strongly against perpetuating," a company spokesperson emailed.

"We have notified our store merchandisers to remove the card from all retailer shelves and apologize for any offense we've caused," said the spokesperson.

Some thought there was nothing wrong with what they saw as a cheeky Father’s Day card:

No. I’m tired of people acting like there’s a difference between a baby father & a baby daddy, mother of my child & baby mama like foh it’s the same thing. That card is cute🙄 https://t.co/z6YQKdjpI5

— Tare💞 (@mamatare1) June 14, 2018

Saunders stood by her criticism of Target and American Greetings:

Looks like people are still real big mad about me posting my disdain over “Baby Daddy” cards. Oh well. I have a husband who is a father who is black let me get a card that represents that. Not this!! Glad it’s not just me. @target @americangreetings let’s do better pic.twitter.com/YhBUhRWCfO

— Takeisha Saunders (@Gagirlkeish) June 13, 2018

When cards didn’t promptly disappear from shelves, social media users were quick to share what they found:

So the whispers down the lane were that @Target was supposed to remove the “baby daddy” card. Low and behold as of 9:45 pm in Philadelphia they’re still here. pic.twitter.com/PyCodTBbPZ

— Miss Pope (@Pomac) June 14, 2018

Here are three lessons from Target’s and American Greetings’ crisis responses:

1. Actions speak louder than words.

It was important for both Target and American Greetings to share their intentions in creating and selling the car in order to prove good faith. However, consumers who have been offended don’t care what your original intent was.

Some consumers did not find the card problematic, but by quickly responding and removing the card, the organizations were able to communicate to consumers that they care—and are willing to do what it takes to repair frayed relationships.

2. Share your thoughts on social media.

Reputational crises happen on social media; your response should be there, too. While many articles covering the crisis used quotes from a spokesperson, they also included social media statements.

Make sure your message gets in front of as many people as possible by sharing a brief message on your social media channels, and use your media interviews to get more specific or address new concerns that may arise.

3. Make sure you follow through.

When the cards didn’t vanish fast enough, social media users were quick to point out the slow response. Make sure that you follow though on your promised action and get the ball rolling before you make your official crisis response.

Otherwise, you risk looking like you aren’t telling the truth.

What do you think of Target’s and American Greetings’ crisis response, PR Daily readers?

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