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Brand strategy: surfing in troubled waters

Bethany Hamilton is an American surfing champion. At the age of 13, on October 31, 2003, she suffered a shark attack in which she lost her left arm. Driven by exceptional courage, she decided to resume competing in January 2004. Her return was widely praised by the press.

Bethany Hamilton's story has been the subject of a documentary (Heart of a Soul Surfer) and a film (Soul Surfer). She has published an autobiography and given lectures throughout the United States.

In February 2023, Bethany Hamilton announced that she does not endorse women's competitions that allow the participation of transgender women. Following this announcement, Rip Curl ceased sponsoring the surfer. Furthermore, the brand preferred another personality, the Australian transgender surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson. The backlash was immediate: numerous Australian surfers called for a boycott of the Rip Curl brand, accusing it of parting ways with its ambassador following her public statement.

The presence of transgender women in sports is a controversial topic. There is no scientific consensus demonstrating that transgender women possess superior physical abilities. Moreover, regulations differ from federation to federation, increasing the confusion.

In 2022, the United States reignited debates surrounding the issue of transgender people's participation in high-level competitions. The inclusion of transgender people was once again questioned. Currently, US sports institutions exhibit significant transphobia.

Bethany Hamilton argued that the creation of a "special category in which they (transgender women) would have an opportunity to showcase their talent" would benefit women's surfing. She concluded by stating, "Male athletes should not participate in women's sports."

It goes without saying that the Rip Curl episode has been exploited by a rather conservative political faction. We remember the #BoycottBudLight hashtag that was launched in 2023 to boycott Budweiser in response to a promotional campaign for the beer featuring actress and TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender woman. Bud Light sales then plummeted by as much as 26%. Anheuser-Busch attempted to quell the controversy by awkwardly stating that their intention was simply to sell beer, not to create controversy. 

We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.

In both of these cases, we're talking about "celebrity marketing," a true exercise in risk management when using brand ambassadors, influencers, and other spokespeople (On this subject, read this article). 

Brand and brand policy. Brand policy and politics in general. The choices made by a brand are never far removed from societal issues, on which it takes a stance, albeit indirectly (To learn more, read this article).

Resources :

20minutes.fr

igg-geo.org

wikipedia.org

wikipedia.org