This week, Ann Söderlund’s controversial advertising collaboration with Ignis funeral agencies caused followers to react strongly. Now the company responds to the criticism in Summary.
The other day, Ann Söderlund published a post on Instagram where she reflected on the death of a loved one. However, the post turned out to be an advertising collaboration with a funeral home, something that gave rise to a lot of criticism online. Now the funeral home is responding to the criticism.
The funeral home: “Has received rice and praise”
Ann Söderlund is not the only influencer who has collaborated with Ignis funeral parlors in recent times: Malin Berghagen has also advertised the company on social media. When Summary contacts Ignis funeral agencies, their CEO, Cecilia Ståhl, refers to agency partner Wakai.
According to Ståhl, the collaboration with various influencers is a “test” that runs from January to March. Regarding the strong criticism that the advertising collaborations have been met with online, she says:
“We neither can nor should control what an influencer writes, but it is a test. We have been praised and will of course make an evaluation after the test.”
Wakai’s CEO Carl Unger says that they are “satisfied with the campaign as such, but fully understand that it can cause outrage because it is a sensitive issue, perhaps especially in Sweden for various reasons”.
When asked if the whole thing could be seen as an ethical violation, he replies:
“I think that [influencerna] should be allowed to talk about what they want to talk about. Ignis also has the right, like other companies, to provide information about its products. It is a sensitive area and a sensitive topic, of course we understand that people react. That is the strength and weakness of open channels and social media.”
