Why it feels like every brand is having a scandal right now

Neutrogena faced a backlash over a resurfaced podcast interview in which former longtime ambassador Hayden Panettiere said she was mistreated by the company.

Panettiere died in August.

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It was the summer of brand scandals — but not because marketers are suddenly more accident-prone.

The reason: the internet has become highly attuned to brand missteps and apt to turn them into full-blown crises.

This weekend, Hyrox was plunged into a reputational emergency after an athlete soiled herself during a race and was allowed to continue, sparking a wave of online complaints about hygiene.

In the last few weeks, we've seen Good Good's bad ad scandal, Neutrogena taking heat over its alleged treatment of Hayden Panettiere , and Target apologizing for stocking an offensive Halloween costume .

Each scandal had its nuance, but they all followed a similar pattern: An incident became social media fodder, spread like wildfire, and forced the brand to respond.

Here's my theory on why stories about brand misfires feel so frenetic.

A lot of people are feeling lousy at the moment.

Anxious about how to make your next mortgage payment, or whether AI might displace your job? Weighing in on a brand drama can offer a cathartic form of escapism with an added dopamine hit of moral superiority.

And it only takes a few seconds.

"Online media has made it exceptionally easy for everyone to share their hot takes, and this is happening faster than ever," said Linda Boff , the former longtime CMO of GE, who now leads the marketing agency Said Differently.