Can an image change brand perception?

McDonald’s recently introduced a Nutella Burger in its Italy restaurants. However, among the excitement of the new burger was a one image that was souring the publicity.

A picture of the Nutella jar showing what is actually inside, has reappeared. This sparked a fresh round of social sharing of the image and the youtube videos (originally made a few years ago) and even a fresh round of news articles attacking the brand.

The image doesn’t reveal anything new. All it does it state what is in the jar in a very visual way. But what’s interesting is the reaction when people see it.

After seeing the image or videos, many people seem to be surprised, disgusted and even betrayed by the brand.

While it doesn’t seem to convince die-hard fans to stop buying Nutella, it is interesting how powerful the image is in attacking the brand.

It’s no secret that Nutella is not the healthiest product. However, while the brand seems to be immune to rationale attacks around its high sugar and fat content, one image continues to prove it really is worth a thousand words. The image simplifies the message of how ‘bad’ the brand is and makes it so easy to share.

Michael Hughes

Michael is Managing Partner and Strategy Director at Truly Deeply, a brand agency with 25 years’ experience working with brands to position them for growth. His deep expertise is in unlocking the strategic power of your brand to create a differentiated, compelling and authentic brand proposition that will engage all your audiences. Michael has extensive experience working across Australia and the Middle East working with leading Australian and International organisations across just about every sector.