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VOCAB WORDS:
- exception
- brand
- advertiser
- coverage
- blacklisted

TRANSCRIPT:

Most companies regularly take steps to make sure their ads don’t run near headlines that could upset potential customers. So news organizations weren’t surprised when advertisers canceled campaigns in recent weeks or demanded that their ads be placed far from coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, costing publishers significant revenue.

Burger King was an exception. Instead of shunning articles that included terms like “Covid-19” or “pandemic,” the company behind the Whopper focused its message on contactless food delivery and pickup. That way, its marketing would not seem out of place in a grim news cycle, said Marcelo Pascoa, the company’s head of brand and communications.“It isn’t damaging for the brand to appear within the context of the crisis, because the brand is playing a role,” he said.

To stay away from bad news, advertisers often turn to a method known as blacklisting. It allows airlines to avoid running ads near plane-crash coverage, and companies with wholesome images to keep away from articles containing words like “murder” or “sex.” In a time of political polarization, frequently blacklisted terms include “Russia,” “impeach” and, among the most avoided, "Trump."

CREDITS:
Article: News Outlets Want More Advertisers to Act Like Burger King
Author: Tiffany Hsu and Marc Tracy
Publisher: The New York Times
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/business/media/advertising-coronavirus-news.html