2025 brought an abnormal amount of high-profile, crisis communication situations that dominated earned and social media. Brands were thrust into the spotlight and just about everyone seemed to have an opinion, including, in one case, the President of the United States.
Here’s what the top crisis comms situations of the year taught us:
1. Astronomer
It’s fair to say Astronomer was NOT prepared for the spotlight. After the CEO was caught on the jumbotron at a Coldplay concert canoodling the head of HR, the video quickly went viral. Before the concert was over, internet sleuths had already discovered the identity of the married CEO.
By the next day, fake statements from the CEO were floating around the internet and even being shared by media outlets. It was 48 hours before we heard from Astronomer with a statement that, instead of focusing on the situation and impact to the business and its employees, also had to message corrections to the rumors that were running rampant.
Nearly two weeks later, the company released a video with “temporary spokesperson” (and ex-wife of the Coldplay lead singer) Gwenyth Paltrow. The move was controversial and costly.
Lessons Learned:
- A CEO’s reputation – and what they do on their own time – has a direct impact on the business
- In the absence of information, the public will write its own story
- A delay in response will make it more difficult, expensive and longer to repair your reputation
2. American Eagle
“Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” Those 5 words thrust American Eagle and Sydney Sweeney into the middle of a contentious and politically charged crisis. Many accused the campaign of promoting eugenics with its play on the words “jeans” and “genes.”
The ad generated massive buzz and American Eagle’s stock initially soared. The company doubled down on the message claiming it is and always was about the jeans. But within a few weeks, analysts reported a 9% decline in foot traffic at the stores.
More than four months after the crisis erupted, Sweeney finally addressed it saying she doesn’t typically weigh in on negative or positive press and realized her silence regarding the issue allowed others to determine her motives and views.
Lessons Learned:
- Diversity of thought and lived experience is critical in marketing
- Not all press is good press – and it can impact your bottom line
- Hoping a controversy will go away is not a sustainable crisis communication strategy
3. Cracker Barrel
A new and modern brand refresh led to a reputational crisis for Cracker Barrel. The restaurant unveiled its updated multi-million dollar rebrand in August and faced quick backlash with the President even weighing in.
A week later, Cracker Barrel scrapped its new logo and went back to the original with the “Old Timer” sitting next to a barrel. It also rolled back plans to remodel and modernize restaurants. Weeks after the controversy, analysis showed that nearly 50% of the social media backlash over the logo change was created by bots.
At a recent earnings report, revenue was down nearly 6% from the same quarter last year, and the CEO said the company has a brand reputation issue and is working to build back trust.
Lessons Learned:
- Know your audience – brand loyalty is hard to rebuild
- Understand who (or what) is driving a controversy
- Taking ownership for a mistake won’t fix the issue immediately, but it is always the right first step
Bonus Crisis Lessons from 2025:
Campbell’s Soup for “poor people” | Your employees influence your brand reputation, and expect internal communications to become public
Bill Belichick & CBS News | You need a media relations expert on your team, and no comment will always be a comment
Target’s brand identity crisis | Flip-flopping on social issues will be noticed, is seen as insincere and will impact your bottom line