Rage bait might win clicks, but does it build credibility? In our latest blog, director Natalie Worpole unpacks how communicators can provoke with purpose.
“Get ready with me while I go cheat on my husband!”
“Microwaving my steak because I don’t believe in frying pans”
“Giving my toddler diet coke for breakfast”
These are just a few of the ‘rage bait’ headlines I’ve stumbled across on Instagram recently. Predictably, I cannot resist the urge for a bit of social rubbernecking. A quick dive into the comments reveals an explosion of rage, disbelief, and lectures from the audience, some of whom are so livid they even start arguing with each other.
Outrage is fast becoming the cheapest growth hack on social media. It doesn’t require nuance, insight or balance, and it doesn’t have to be clever. A heated headline can stir up a storm, winning the content creator algorithmic favour. But cheap engagement is a trap.
As communications leaders, our challenge isn’t to avoid provocation entirely. We encourage our spokespeople to be punchy and impactful, but our advice is always to do so with intention, integrity and direction. Misaligned or shallow provocation erodes trust, undermines credibility and most importantly, means key messages get completely lost.
You could argue that purveyors of rage bait on social media don’t care all that much about integrity and they’ll ignore their own moral compass (assuming they have one) in a quest for clicks, but there are countless examples of brands that have relied on shock tactics to get cut through. And sometimes, it really works.
Take Gillette ‘the best a man can get’– one of its longest running and most recognisable slogans since it was introduced in 1989, used globally for decades in print, broadcast and sponsorship campaigns.
In 2019, Gillette took the bold step of rethinking its apparently timeless tagline to take on toxic masculinity with a 48 second ad, complete with voiceover that asked “is this the best a man can get? Is it? It’s been going on far too long, and we can’t laugh it off”, against the backdrop of scenes depicting everything from workplace sexism to normalised violence amongst young boys.
Gillette told its audience “We believe in the best in men”, and thus, the internet was reportedly split, with many rushing to support the brands’ courage in tackling the contentious, and others threatening a brand boycott.
Of course, as the saying goes, ‘you can’t win em all’, but in this case Gillette achieved something significant; they meaningfully refreshed their brand purpose and fuelled conversation around men’s behaviour. Their provocation was principled – aligned with their brand DNA; and they accepted it would be divisive.
In contrast, there are some notable provocation fails. Proof that sexism and gender equality are tricky issues to tackle, Burger King made an unfortunate misstep in 2021, posting a single tweet on International Women’s Day which read ‘Women belong in the kitchen’.
They followed this up with a second tweet; ‘Yet only 20% of chefs are women. We’re on a mission to change the gender ratio in the restaurant industry’. To their credit, they did at least try to give their provocation purpose, announcing a scholarship programme to “help female Burger King employees pursue their culinary dreams!”.
There’s a lot to unpack here. Firstly, their initial tweet generated a 527% higher engagement rate than their second, with thousands of people rushing to express their disgust, and a likely majority never seeing the subsequent tweet.
Secondly, most people, men or women, with a culinary dream are unlikely to be enamoured with the idea of pursuing it at Burger King (no shade, I love a bacon double cheeseburger as much as the next person). Their initial tweet was delivered with no context or nuance; thus, the narrative was lost. Burger King knew they’d messed up, later deleting the post and issuing an apology.
So how can comms teams ensure they strike the right balance, landing punchy, yet purposeful messages that resonate (with the majority) whilst provoking the right type of emotional (or rational) response? There are a few important questions us comms professionals should ask ourselves:
Provocation has always had a place in communications but only when it serves a bigger purpose. In earned media especially, cheap outrage rarely survives beyond the headline, while thoughtful, values-driven provocation can shape the narrative for weeks. Our role in comms is to help leaders land messages that are bold enough to be heard but grounded enough to withstand scrutiny. When provocation is principled, it can elevate reputation and drive meaningful discussion across every channel, from newsrooms to boardrooms.