Brands still think trust comes from getting the message perfect, but that’s not really what people are responding to right now.
Transparency, vulnerability and honest marketing is working really well right now because people connect with what feels human.
You can see it in the brands that put their hand up before the mistake is even announced and say, this is what happened.
Burger King is a good example of that. Instead of pretending the rough years never happened, they admitted the stuff customers were already feeling: slow service, tired restaurants, weak menu calls, a brand experience that had slipped. That honesty works because it closes the gap between what the brand says and what people already know. It feels less like spin and more like self-awareness.
Patagonia does it differently, but it lands for the same reason. In its “Work in Progress” reporting, it talks openly about where it is falling short, where it is making progress and what still is not solved. That kind of honesty matters because Patagonia has built its brand around values. When a brand with that kind of positioning admits the gap between its ideals and reality, it feels credible. It feels like accountability instead of self-congratulation.
Both approaches work because they sound accountable, not polished.
No corporate cover. No polished non-apology. Just a brand acting like there are actual people (with humility) behind it.
That’s what resonates. Not because people love watching brands mess up, but because they understand the emotions underneath it. Fear, stress, vulnerability, and that very real feeling of getting something wrong and having to own it.
Most people can’t relate to breaking world records. But they can absolutely relate to being human. And that’s the part a lot of brands still miss.
The thing cutting through right now is not perfect messaging. It’s honest messaging. The brands people trust are often the ones willing to sound real before they sound polished.
Feels like that matters a lot more now than another smart take on the algorithm.