Since 1967, “The Maytag Repairman” has been brand icon of the now-Whirlpool Corp.-owned operation. “Ol’ Lonely” is the longest running real-life character in American advertising history.
Though TMR is portrayed on the tube as having nothing to do, he was busy as brand ambassador with TV and public appearances throughout the country. But “Ol’ Lonely” has a lot of company on the repair trail following news earlier this month of a massive 1.6M recall of Maytag refrigerators due to an electrical failure in the relay, the component that turns on the compressor. The faulty part could cause overheating and pose a serious fire hazard.
Maytag is committed to dispatching repairmen to homes throughout the kitchen to fix its refrigerators. It’s not clear whether those repairmen will wear the snappy uniform of “Ol’ Lonely.”
The recall is the second blow to TMR’s image within the past six months. In September, “Ol’ Lonely” was nominated for induction into the Madison Avenue Hall of Fame. He was beaten out by the Geico Caveman and the Serta Sheep, of all things. What a comeuppance!
State Farm Insurance is another American advertising icon that is doing a lot of explaining these days. The mutual insurer has 78M policyholders who buy into its slogan, “Like a Good Neighbor State Farm is There.” So enamored with the corporate motto, SF had its agents hand out 800,000 free brown teddy bears wearing white and red T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan. The bears were distributed to customers and people at SF-sponsored events. Cute and cuddly, perhaps. A good move, definitely not.
SF announced this week that it is recalling the so-called “Good Neigh Bears.” Why? The eyes of the bears can come off, presenting a choking hazard for young children. SF wants people to yank the bears, which were distributed from `05 to `07, from the arms of their kids and throw them into the garbage. That's a move that could bias a generation of potential customers against SF, “the mean guys who took teddy away.” The bears were made in China. Enough said. SF should have known better.
Corporate reputations are fragile things indeed.