Humor, responsabilidade social corporativa e gestão de crise de marca: o caso da Control Portugal no Instagram

Hadassa Guimarães Oliveira; Rui Bruno Santos; Bruno Frutuoso Costa

doi:10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/disertaciones/a.15915

##plugins.block.makeSubmission.linkLabel##

Humor, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Brand Crisis Management: The Case of Control Portugal on Instagram

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/disertaciones/a.15915

PDF (Português (Brasil))

Published: Apr 13, 2026

Issue: Preprint

Section Avances (Miscellanea)

Keywords: advertising humor corporate social responsibility paracrisis semantic networks representation

Authors

Hadassa Guimarães Oliveira
LIACOM - Laboratório de Investigação Aplicada em Comunicação e Media

Rui Bruno Santos
Instituto Universitário de Lisboa - ISCTE-IUL

Bruno Frutuoso Costa
Instituto Universitário de Lisboa - ISCTE-IUL

Abstract

Humor has long been used as a persuasion strategy in advertising, but using it in campaigns that address sensitive issues, such as gender identity and representation, can generate ethical and reputational controversies. This study analyzes Control Portugal’s Instagram post, which many internet users perceived as “transphobic” and which triggered a digital paracrisis. The objective was to understand the discursive patterns that emerged in public reactions after the post was deleted. Qualitative research using Semantic Network Analysis (Segev, 2022) examined comments on three subsequent posts made between November 11 and 13, 2024. The data were extracted by Instascraper and processed in KH Coder software. The results revealed four main clusters —content, audience, reaction arguments, and restriction arguments— highlighting polarization between discourses of censorship and defense of freedom of expression. Subsequent posts revealed an attempt to repair the company’s reputation by reintroducing humor to reduce discursive fragmentation. The results indicate that following the removal of the publication, humor was employed to restore the reputation and diminish fragmentation while preserving the dichotomy between censorship and freedom of expression. These findings point out the need for culturally sensitive advertising strategies, including pre-testing and paracrisis management grounded in continuous social listening.

Author Biographies

Hadassa Guimarães Oliveira, LIACOM - Laboratório de Investigação Aplicada em Comunicação e Media

Hadassa Oliveira é doutorada em Ciências da Comunicação (CIES-ISCTE-IUL), com especialização em género e media, onde desenvolve investigação multidisciplinar sobre as representações socioculturais de género nos media contemporâneos. Atualmente é investigadora integrada no LIACOM-ESCS-IPL e investigadora associada no CIES-ISCTE-IUL. Tem experiência no ensino superior, aliada a expertise em gestão e divulgação científica, bem como um percurso profissional consolidado em publicidade e marketing digital. Trabalhou em agências de publicidade na criação, planeamento e análise estratégica de conteúdos para plataformas digitais, bem como na monitorização de meios pagos e marketing digital em contextos internacionais. Possui ainda competências técnicas em ferramentas de criação e análise de dados, o que fundamenta uma prática pedagógica que integra pensamento crítico, fundamentos teóricos e aplicação prática nas áreas da publicidade, marketing e media digitais.

Rui Bruno Santos, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa - ISCTE-IUL

A PhD candidate in Communication Sciences at the University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL), he is researching the topic "Communication in the prevention of tax non-compliance." He holds a master's degree in administration (2012) and a bachelor's degree in marketing and communication (2010) from Universidade Atlântica. His research focuses on how communication shapes social norms surrounding taxation and its relationship with both tax compliance and citizen responses to tax policy in digital contexts.

Bruno Frutuoso Costa, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa - ISCTE-IUL

He is a PhD candidate in Communication Sciences at the University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL) and a visiting researcher at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture (JOMEC), Cardiff University. In 2024, he completed a postgraduate degree in Data Analysis in Social Sciences at the former institution. Bruno is a PhD research fellow from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) at CIES-Iscte, where he is developing his funded project “Aversion2agony: A cross-national comparative analysis of journalistic mediation of euthanasia in Portugal and the United Kingdom” (Reference 2023.04877.BD; Website https://aversion2agony.com/).

How to Cite

Oliveira, H. G., Santos, R. B., & Costa, B. F. (2026). Humor, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Brand Crisis Management: The Case of Control Portugal on Instagram. Anuario Electrónico De Estudios En Comunicación Social "Disertaciones". https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/disertaciones/a.15915

References

Attardo, S. (2024). Humor in the age of the internet: the case of transmedial humor. Traduction et Langues, 23(2), 22-33. https://doi.org/10.52919/translang.v23i2.991 DOI: https://doi.org/10.52919/translang.v23i2.991

Ayu Lestari, D., Primagara, M., Aulia Sari, S., Meilina, A., Fauziah, S., Irfany Sugesti, A., Nasywa, A., & Diva Salwi, A. (2024). Meme culture: A study of humor and satire in digital media. International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Studies, 4(4), 134-140. https://doi.org/10.62225/2583049X.2024.4.4.3013 DOI: https://doi.org/10.62225/2583049X.2024.4.4.3013

Baumgartner, J. C., & Becker, A. (2018). Political humor in a changing media landscape: A new generation of research. Lexington books.

Beard, F. K. (2008). Humor in the advertising business: Theory, practice, and wit. Rowman & Littlefield.

Cardoso, G. (2023). A Comunicação da comunicação: as pessoas são a mensagem. Editora Mundos Sociais.

Carroll, A. B. (1999). Corporate Social Responsibility. Business & Society, 38(3), 268-295. https://doi.org/10.1177/000765039903800303 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/000765039903800303

Carroll, A. B. (2021). Corporate Social Responsibility: Perspectives on the CSR construct’s development and future. Business & Society, 60(6), 1258-1278. https://doi.org/10.1177/00076503211001765 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00076503211001765

Charaudeau, P. (2006). Des Catégories pour l’Humour ? Questions de Communication, 10, 19-41. https://doi.org/10.4000/questionsdecommunication.7688 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/questionsdecommunication.3375

Chen, F., & Holladay, S. J. (2023). Identifying and responding to social media risks: towards an organizational paracrisis communication framework. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 28(1), 103-117. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-11-2021-0124 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-11-2021-0124

Control Portugal. (2025, 25 fevereiro). Control Portugal — Preservativos, Geles e Brinquedos Sexuais. https://control.pt/

Coombs, W. T. (2014). State of crisis communication: Evidence and the bleeding edge. Research Journal of the Institute for Public Relations, 1(1), 1-12.

Costa, B. F. (2020). Dove e a desconstrução de estereótipos: uma relação de simbiose. Interações: Sociedade e as Novas Modernidades, (39), 67-90. https://doi.org/10.31211/interacoes.n39.2020.a3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31211/interacoes.n39.2020.a3

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039

Dudo, A., & Kahlor, L. (Eds.). (2017). Strategic communication: New agendas in communication. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315644943 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315644943

Etta, G., Sangiorgio, E., Di Marco, N., Avalle, M., Scala, A., Cinelli, M., & Quattrociocchi, W. (2023). Characterizing engagement dynamics across topics on Facebook. PLOS ONE, 18(6), e0286150. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286150 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286150

Fearn-Banks, K. (2024). Crisis communications: a casebook approach (6.a ed). Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003019282 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003019282

Ferreira, M. (2024, 3 novembro). Control remove publicação do Instagram após receber críticas de transfobia. Observador. https://observador.pt/2024/11/13/control-remove-publicacao-do-instagram-apos-receber-criticas-de-transfobia/

Förster, K., & Brantner, C. (2016). Masking the offense? An ethical view on humor in advertising. Journal of Media Ethics, 31(3), 146-161. https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2016.1188013 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2016.1188013

Frota, S., & Medeiros, N. (2024). Cultura digital: mediatização, vigilância e espaço público. Comunicação Pública, 19(37). https://doi.org/10.34629/cpublica.872

Haley, E. (1996). Exploring the construct of organization as source: Consumers’ understandings of organizational sponsorship of advocacy advertising. Journal of Advertising, 25(2), 19-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.1996.10673497 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.1996.10673497

Hallahan, K., Holtzhausen, D., Van Ruler, B., Verčič, D., & Sriramesh, K. (2007). Defining strategic communication. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 1(1), 3-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/15531180701285244 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15531180701285244

Higuchi, K. (2016). KH Coder 3 Reference Manual. https://khcoder.net/en/manual_en_v3.pdf

Holtzhausen, D. R., Fullerton, J. A., Lewis, B. K., & Shipka, D. (2021). Principles of strategic communication. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003002048 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003002048

Leandro, V. (2025, 5 novembro). Porque celebramos o São Martinho com castanhas e água-pé? A história por trás da tradição adorada pelos portugueses. https://lisboasecreta.co/sao-martinho-magusto-castanhas-agua-pe/

Lim, H. S., Moon, W.-K., & Ciszek, E. (2024). Advertising for brands and society: the role of perceived authenticity in corporate transgender advocacy advertising campaigns. Journal of Homosexuality, 71(10), 2449-2477. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2023.2245522 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2023.2245522

Mackinnon, K. (2022). Critical care for the early web: ethical digital methods for archived youth data. Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, 20(3), 349-361. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-12-2021-0125 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-12-2021-0125

Mameli, M., Paolanti, M., Morbidoni, C., Frontoni, E., & Teti, A. (2022). Social media analytics system for action inspection on social networks. Social Network Analysis and Mining, 12(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-021-00853-w DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-021-00853-w

Martino, L. M. S., & Marques, Â. C. S. (2014). Ética e teorias da comunicação: poder, interações e cultura participativa. Comunicação e Sociedade, 25, 138-153. https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.25(2014).1865 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.25(2014).1865

Moreira, D. F. P. (2022). As representações LGBTI+ na publicidade e a sua aceitação na sociedade portuguesa [Dissertação de mestrado, Universidade Fernando Pessoa]. Repositório Institucional da Fernando Pessoa. https://bdigital.ufp.pt/handle/10284/11385

Moreno, F., & Kang, J. (2020). How to alleviate consumer skepticism concerning corporate responsibility: The role of content and delivery in CSR communications. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(6), 2477-2490. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1969 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1969

Newman, M. E. J. (2006). Modularity and community structure in networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(23), 8577-8582. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0601602103 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0601602103

Oliveira, H. (2023). Social responsibility of advertising and female beauty: A document analysis of laws and regulations in Brazil and Portugal. Proceedings of The Global Conference on Women’s Studies, 2(1), 26-38. https://doi.org/10.33422/womensconf.v2i1.78 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33422/womensconf.v2i1.78

Oliveira, H. G., & Lapa, T. J. (2022). Representations of female beauty: C&A Brazil and Portugal (spring/summer 2018). Revista Estudos Feministas, 30(2), e76563. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9584-2022v30n276563-en DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9584-2022v30n276563-en

Paramita, W., Septianto, F., & Nasution, R. A. (2022). The interactive effects of moral identity and humor on advertising evaluations: the mediating role of disgust. International Journal of Advertising, 41(7), 1263-1281. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2021.1991680 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2021.1991680

Reyes-Fournier, P., Reyes-Fournier, E., & Bracken, D. W. (2023). Does Cancel Culture Affect the Bottom Line? A Timeseries Analysis of Sentiment and Emotion on the Efficacy of the Call to Cancel Against Abercrombie & Fitch. European Journal of Behavioral Sciences, (3), 41-56. https://doi.org/10.33422/ejbs.v6i3.1088 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33422/ejbs.v6i3.1088

Sagerer, G., & Niemann, H. (2013). Semantic Networks for Understanding Scenes. Springer Publishing Company, Incorporated.

Santos, B. R. (2024). Instagram extract comment. An application for automated data extraction from Instagram. https://Github.Com/RuiBrunoSantos/Instascraper

Segev, E. (Ed.). (2022). Semantic network analysis in social sciences. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003120100 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003120100

St. John Iii, B., & Pearson, Y. E. (2016). Crisis management and ethics: Moving beyond the public-relationsperson-as-corporate-conscience construct. Journal of Media Ethics, 31(1), 18-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2015.1116392 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2015.1116392

Swenson-Lepper, T., & Kerby, A. (2019). Cyberbullies, trolls, and stalkers: Students’ perceptions of ethical issues in social media. Journal of Media Ethics, 34(2), 102-113. https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2019.1599721 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2019.1599721

Tusinski Berg, K. (2017). Trends in public relations: exploring the role of ethics as it relates to social media and crisis communication. Journal of Media Ethics, 32(1), 61-66. https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2016.1260992 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2016.1260992

Üzelgün, M. A., Giannouli, I., Archontaki, I., Odstrčilová, K., Thomass, B., & Álvares, C. (2024). Transforming Toxic Debates towards European Futures. Central European Journal of Communication, 17(1)(35), 82-102. https://doi.org/10.51480/1899-5101.17.1(35).711 DOI: https://doi.org/10.51480/1899-5101.17.1(35).711

Warren, C., Carter, E. P., & McGraw, A. P. (2019). Being funny is not enough: the influence of perceived humor and negative emotional reactions on brand attitudes. International Journal of Advertising, 38(7), 1025-1045. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2019.1620090 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2019.1620090

Zulfiqar, S., Sadaf, R., Popp, J., Vveinhardt, J., & Máté, D. (2019). An examination of Corporate Social Responsibility and employee behavior: The case of Pakistan. Sustainability, 11(13), 3515. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11133515 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11133515

Query Statistics