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(upbeat music)

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- L'Oreal admits a mistake,

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and CrossFit's CEO pays for his.

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I'm Jeef Beer, and this is Fast Company's,

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"Brand Hit & Miss of the Week".

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The miss this week goes to CrossFit.

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On June 6th, in response to the Institute

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for Health Metrics and Evaluation,

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tweeting that racism is
a public health issue.

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CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman
replied, "It's FLOYD-19."

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Apparently comparing the
death of George Floyd

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to the Coronavirus.

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It was also reported that

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after a CrossFit affiliated gym owner,

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suggested they make the
company issue anti-racist

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statements, in support
of Black Lives Matter.

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Glassman resisted and called
the gym owner delusional,

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in an email for her suggestion.

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Between the tweet and the email,

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the backlash against Glassman,

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and CrossFit was swift, and significant.

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More than 1000 gyms said

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they'd stop using the CrossFit name.

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And top athletes began
boycotting the CrossFit Games.

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And on June 7, Reebok
announced it was ending

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its exclusive 10 year
partnership with CrossFit.

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On June 9, Glassman told gym
owners on a private zoom call,

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quote, "We're not
mourning for George Floyd.

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"I don't think me or any of my staff are."

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He also asked a Minneapolis gym owner,

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who would question why the
brand hadn't posted a statement

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on George Floyd's death and the protests.

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"Can you tell me why I
should mourn for him?

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"Other than that it's
the white thing to do.

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"Other than that, give me another reason."

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Now, on June 10, surprise, surprise,

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Glassman announces his
resignation and retirement.

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Now the odds are good that
many of CrossFit's loyal fans,

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will be reexamining their
own commitment to that brand.

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Now for the hit, we have L'Oreal Paris.

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Back in August 2017,

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model and L'Oreal Paris
spokesperson Munroe Bergdorf,

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posted a comment on Facebook
about unconscious racism

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in the wake of the
Charlottesville protests,

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and white supremacy marches.

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The brand, however, fired her for it.

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At the time, it reasoned

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that her comments calling
out white people, were quote,

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"At odds with its mission to support,"

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quote, "Diversity and
tolerance towards all people,

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"irrespective of their race, background,

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"gender and religion."

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In the wake of her firing,

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Bergdorf was highly
criticized by UK media,

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and L'Oreal remained silent.

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Fast forward to June 1 of this year,

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and there was L'Oreal Paris
joining the chorus of brands,

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denouncing racism, and
encouraging people to speak out.

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Well, Bergdorf, rightfully,
was having none of that.

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She called out the brand saying,

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"Where was my support when I spoke out?

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"I'm disgusted and writing
this in floods of tears."

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So far, you may be asking yourself, wait,

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why is this a brand hit?

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And you'd be right, because so far,

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the brand's behavior has
been pretty damn awful.

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But here we get to the point

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where a brand in this position
can do one of two things,

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stubbornly defend a wrongful position,

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or it can admit its mistake,

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and honestly try to make amends.

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L'Oreal smartly chose the latter.

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On June 9, Bergdorf announced

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that she'd been in touch with the brand,

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and then she was accepting
a consultancy position

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on the brand's UK diversity,
and inclusion advisory board.

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While tied up in the
complexities of business,

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too often brands can abandon common sense

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when trying to rectify a bad move.

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Here, L'Oreal thankfully
followed advice that millions

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of parents tell their children every day.

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That it's not the mistake
that matters most,

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but how you deal with it,
what you learn from it,

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and how you apply that
lesson to your life.

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That's it for now, let us
know your hit and miss peaks.

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(slow music)