Case $1$: Lean Cuisine$$s #Itall Campaign

Can women $$have it all?$$ The answer to that question might depend on the person being asked. Lean Cuisine sought to create an event and then an advertising campaign emphasizing the importance and value of support from other females when making career choices. The #ItAll Social Experiment involved $18$ women who were asked to fill out an electronic survey regarding the ways in which they would describe perfect lives, or $$having it all.$$

Next, the subjects were taken to a mock$-$up of a grocery store two weeks after filling out the survey. Some were invited to $$shop$$ for their $$ideal lives$$ alongside friends, family members, and other acquaintances, while others shopped alone. The items on the shelves depicted various desirable items in life, such as having children, attending and graduating from college, and so forth, along with grocery$-$type items. Women who shopped by themselves were compared to women who shopped with members of a supportive group. The experiment suggested that women who had encouragement or support from other key women were more likely to make ambitious career and life choices. Lean Cuisine$$s marketing team then created messages expressing the value of such support.

wavebreakmediamicro$/123$rf

Response to the effort was intense. Social media posts by one group roundly criticized the company for selling $$diet$$ food while advocating for feminine empowerment. This group suggested a corollary to body$-$shaming as opposed to real female advocacy. A second group responded that the concept did indeed have value and that the company should be congratulated for tapping into an important issue$$a supportive network for women in a positive way.

Lean Cuisine$$s marketing team responded that the scompany was not in the $$diet$$ food business, but rather sold products that met the dietary needs of women, including products with non$-$GMO ingredients, reduced levels of preservatives, and gluten$-$free options. The public relations department further noted that the company had created the L$.$E$.$A$.$N$.$ fund designed to help female entrepreneurs in lower income communities with loans to start small businesses in Cleveland, Ohio$\mathrm{.}37$

$13-37.$ Describe the stakeholders and the positions of each group involved in this story.

$13-38.$ Is this an example of crisis management that requires an apology, or rather a public relations issue that can be met with another company approach?

$13-39.$ Beyond comments already made, how should Lean Cuisine$$s publicity department respond to the critics of the #ItAll campaign?

$13-40.$ Design a promotional program including public relations releases that emphasize the value of the L$.$E$.$A$.$N$.$ program.