The Power of Controversy: How Brands Stay Culturally Visible

December 1, 2025

By Brady Shea

Courtesy of Claudio Schwarz via Unsplash

Today, digital trends disappear in an instant, and brands face a scary reality: cultural visibility is fleeting. A viral moment today can become irrelevant tomorrow. And yet, there’s one eternal force that seems to guarantee attention – controversy. If handled correctly, a controversy isn’t always destructive to a brand; sometimes, it can reframe or even humanize it. 

From Virality to Cultural Imprint

In the early 2010s, virality was the holy grail of marketing. Now, a million views on social media mean nothing if no one remembers what they saw. What brands are chasing instead is cultural imprint, moments that stick or spark conversation. This is where controversy thrives. It guarantees attention because it demands a reaction.

Think of Kanye West’s collaborations, or even the Bud Light Boycott. Whether these incidents were loved or hated, people talked all the same. Controversy alone kept brands within social culture and conversation. As marketing analyst Dr. Jonah Berger explains in his book Contagious: Why Things Catch On, “Emotion drives action. When people feel something, they share.” Controversy fuels those emotions, whether they be anger, curiosity, or amusement. 

Brands Built on Boldness

Courtesy of Diesel

Some brands have become synonymous with controversy, such as Diesel for their visually provocative advertising campaigns or Burger King and Wendy's for their Twitter wars. These brands thrive not despite controversy, but because of it. When Diesel released its "Go With The Flaw" campaign, celebrating imperfections, it was praised for being real and rebellious. For a brand that built its identity on disruption, this marketing message fits perfectly. The key for brands lies in consistency. A controversial campaign from a company known for playing it safe feels jarring. But when controversy aligns with brand DNA, it could be read as bold and unique, not desperate. Renzo Rosso, the founder of Diesel, has spoken about the gap between curated social media and real life to Shots Magazine, saying that “Social networks are after beauty, beauty, beauty. I think if you [present] reality, you gain more sympathy and more respect.”

This sentiment demonstrates Diesel’s commitment to celebrating imperfection, and not just as a marketing tactic, but as a core part of its cultural brand identity. Diesel’s “Go With The Flaw” campaign video features people with imperfections, such as a pool player with a lazy eye and a woman with a unibrow. The brand also deleted all of their posts from Instagram, likely to signify a fresh, authentic start. Diesel’s use of controversy operates as a challenge to dominant aesthetics. Not only does it reject perfection, it also reframes “flaw” as culture. By inviting customers to see themselves as “imperfect,” Diesel disrupts beauty norms and positions itself as a brand of vulnerability. This emotional alignment transforms marketing into identity-building.

Courtesy of Diesel

Authenticity as a Competitive Advantage

Audiences today crave authenticity over perfection. That’s why brands like Wendy’s and Duolingo have become social media stars. Wendy’s famously roasting users on Twitter is a move that once might’ve seemed risky, but now feels critical to its brand image, and the humor works because it is consistent. Wendy’s doesn’t pretend to be overly polished or corporate, but rather leans into its quirky personality. The tone feels human, which is something audiences instinctively trust more than scripted politeness. Therefore, inconsistency, not controversy, is what breaks credibility.

Courtesy of aerps.com via Unsplash

Similarly, Duolingo publicly acknowledges the benefits of its controversial online personality. In an interview with Observer, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn explained the necessity of their provocative social media strategy, saying that “We paused all the ‘unhinged’ posts in our social media for a bit because we were listening to our community and trying to build brand love… Over the last few weeks, we have started the unhinged posts again… this move has already led to a lot of recovery and is expected to boost [daily active users] going forward”. Ahn reinforced this consistency as essential to brand identity, commenting to HR Grapevine that “As we say in our company handbook, we’re ‘wholesome but unhinged.’ That tension is what makes Duolingo Special”. Duolingo doesn’t just embrace controversy; it strategically uses unpredictability to stay relevant. The brand’s unhinged personality works because it mirrors how people use social platforms: with chaos, humor, and without polishing. 

Controversy as Modern Brand Storytelling

The world moves too fast for brands to stay relevant through neutrality. Controversy, when purposeful and authentic, keeps brands culturally visible because it sparks discussion. At its core, controversy is simply storytelling. It creates conflict, emotion, and resolution, just like any movie you watch. It humanizes brands in a time when corporate polishing feels unrelatable. The brands that dare to be human are the ones we remember.

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Brady Shea is a freshman in Film & TV at the Tisch School of the Arts. He is passionate about movies, the Miami Dolphins, and the entertainment industry.