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In the last couple of years we’ve truly started to understand the meaning of boycott. Social media has made sure that we’re in an age where blacklisting businesses is hitting them where it really hurts.
Obviously, we often can’t help but wonder: does protesting and refusing to purchase from a business even do anything? Is it purely performative? Well, turns out, someone wondered the very same thing, and decided to ask people about some success stories of boycotting that actually worked, so here they are.
More info: Reddit
#1
Bank of America
I use to work for Merrill L***h post 2008 Great Recession. They were purchased by Bank of America. Around 2010 or 2011 Bank of America rolled out with a $5 a month ATM fee for all accounts. Lots of people got pissed over this $5 fee. So much so that millions of deposits left Bank of America to other banks. It wasn’t long before Bank of America rolled back and removed that $5 fee a month. They never publicly disclosed how much money left the bank.
You better believe if customers just accepted that $5 fee it wouldn’t be long before all the other banks adopted that fee. It’s great to see the collective customer base stand up and revolt to make a change in the big corporation’s behavior.
Image source: Supermanass, Vitalii Khodzinskyi
#2
ABC/Disney after they suspended Jimmy Kimmel.
Image source: dirk_birkin, Jimmy Kimmel Live
#3
Company called Artesian Builds that sponsored streamers and ran PC giveaways.
One time the CEO streamed a giveaway and the initial winner was chosen. The CEO provided to look over and berate every aspect of this streamers admittedly low viewer count and stream schedule. But that wasn’t the point of the giveaway, nor was it outlined that you needed **any** credentials to be a winner. Yet he looked over nearly every stream stat and practically tore this guy down, all to justify choosing someone else who would promote the company to a wider audience, prioritizing his company over the very audience he hoped to cultivate.
Needless to say, his company lost so much business they went bankrupt in 2022.
Image source: Arceedos, Fausto Sandoval
The act of boycotting might seem like something driven by social media. After all, we’ve recently seen it skyrocket on TikTok and X, but you might be surprised to learn that scholars trace the term “boycott” back to 19th-century Ireland. That’s when several tenants socially and economically shunned Captain Charles Boycott, who repeatedly refused to lower rents.
Instead of using violence, these tenants chose not to harvest his crops, deliver his mail, or sell him goods. Since the captain cared most about money, being hit where it hurt had a real impact. He ended up having to hire outside laborers, which cost more than the crops themselves, and while he still didn’t lower the rents, he ultimately removed himself from the community altogether.
#4
In Adelaide, Australia, Starbucks opened in 2007 and permanently closed in 2008 after people boycotted it as their coffee is comsidered massively inferior compared to the local independent coffee shops. It is still not present in Adelaide to now.
Additional titbit about Adelaide, it also is the only place in the world where a milk drink (local Farmers Union Iced Coffee) outsells Coca Cola at a rate of about 2:1.
Image source: TurbulentChemistry10, Athar Khan
#5
Canadian here: We are successfully boycotting the travel industry in the USA and their liquor.
Image source: CreativeJelly5496, Raúl Nájera
#6
The OG Charles Boycott, whom the tactic is named after.
Boycott was a land agent (the muscle), enforcing english landlord rules on local irish.
> local activists of the Irish National Land League encouraged Boycott’s employees (including the seasonal workers required to harvest the crops on Lord Erne’s estate) to withdraw their labour, and began a campaign of isolation against Boycott in the local community. This campaign included shops in nearby Ballinrobe refusing to serve him, and the withdrawal of services. Some were threatened with violence to ensure compliance.
Image source: Boulavogue, Osioni
Other successful boycotts often involve banks and similar financial institutions. Many people might remember the 2008 controversy with Bank of America, when it introduced a $5 monthly fee. It was only when customers united and started leaving the bank altogether that the company got the message and quickly reversed the decision.
So why does this tactic work so well? According to experts, there are a few key reasons behind it. After all, economic pressure is one of companies’ biggest fears. When the public enforces financial pressure and damages a company’s reputation, revenue starts to drop, and stock prices can follow. In the end, it’s all about hitting where it hurts.
#7
Just recently, Wasserman talent agency’s CEO got named in the Epstein files. Tons of artists on their roster expressed their feelings about it and threatened to leave. So Wasserman stepped down as the CEO and they rebranded.
Image source: exor41n, Reuters
#8
Livestrong and Lance Armstrong. After the doping scandal came out, people stopped buying the yellow bracelets almost overnight. It went from being everywhere to basically disappearing. The brand never really recovered.
Image source: Choice-Draft5467, The Great Unlearn
#9
Yeah target’s a perfect example of corporate performative activism, they’ll slap a pride flag on their storefront in june then fold the second theres organized pressure from the other side, its all about quarterly earnings not actual values.
Image source: No-Occasion-272, Shabaz Usmani
Some boycotts are far less political than we might expect — take Starbucks in Adelaide, for instance. The reason the local population boycotted it wasn’t due to political ties or investors — far from it. It came down to taste. The coffee simply wasn’t up to local standards, and many people thought it was just… mid. And the protest worked: to this day, there’s still no Starbucks in Adelaide.
As you can imagine, though, for a company to be effectively blacklisted, it takes quite a large participation for a boycott to succeed. Recent studies show that about a third of consumers in the U.S. have boycotted a business for various reasons, whether political, ethical, or environmental. It goes to show that consumers still have the power to create change.
#10
Honestly the most interesting part of the Bud Light thing was how fast InBev managed to alienate both sides of the argument within about a week. You had conservatives outraged over a single promo can, then the company panicked and disavowed it, which immediately alienated the people who thought they were doing the right thing in the first place. Classic case of trying to please everyone and ending up with nobody.
Image source: JMusto0223, Los Angeles Magazine Videos
#11
Wendy’s Jr. bacon cheese burger went to like $1.49 or something in 2005 and then got boycotted and they brought that back down to $.99. Such a w for everyone.
Image source: KSPN, Gonzalo Acuña
#12
I gotta say Spotify, they stopped running those ice recruitment ads after their stock dipped.
Image source: AHatWearingDuck, Heidi Fin
Now, you might be surprised to see so many big names on that list, especially since they’re still in business and often thriving. Brands like Nestlé, Nike, Gap, and even Xbox have all been under scrutiny for different reasons, ranging from the Nestlé water controversy to child labor concerns, and even something as simple as rising video game prices.
But that raises an important question: how do these businesses continue to thrive despite backlash? Very simply put, experts point to the power of marketing and PR. Take Nestlé, for example: the company invested in PR damage control, launched water-related initiatives, and, soon enough, consumers continued buying its products. When a company is large enough, its chances of recovery are much higher.
#13
I’m kinda surprised nobody has mentioned the Montgomery Bus Boycott during the civil rights movement.
The entire black population of Montgomery, Alabama boycotted the bus companies for over a year, and chose to carpool or walk instead. It’s like the textbook example of non-violent direct action by workers against capital achieving its goals.
Image source: quesoandcats, The Transport Enthusiast DC s5a0043
#14
Nestle. I spoke with one of their reps about the whole water a***e scandal and they said that the company had to completely redesign their structure and PR to come back from what they did. I think they also set up some water charities too.
Image source: islandbookninja, Brett Jordan
#15
There was a makeup company called Youthforia that received criticism for lack of diversity in their shade range. In response, they introduced a new foundation shade that was *jet black*. The backlash was massive, but the company doubled down and refused to apologize. They closed just over a year later.
Image source: cssc201, Youthforia
Nowadays, though, the reason so many people join this kind of “peaceful” protest may not always be entirely ethical. In fact, experts often point to the phenomenon of “herd mentality.” This suggests that as people feel increasingly judged online for supporting brands that aren’t seen as politically correct or widely accepted, they may choose to boycott simply out of fear of not fitting in with their peers.
Jeremy Bentham would argue that, in the end, as long as actions produce good results, the intentions behind them don’t really matter and they are still morally right. But what do you think? Have you ever boycotted a business and made a difference, or do you believe that, in the end, big conglomerates will win no matter what? Let us know.
#16
Arguably the Boston Tea Party, which was itself simply one event tied to a much broader boycott of British tea imports as a protest against the new taxes. It was actually boycotts against all British imports that caused the British to roll back all of those taxes–except the tax on tea. Hence the Party.
Image source: tinticred, W.D. Cooper
#17
Widespread orange juice boycotts lost [Anita Bryant] her job as a spokesperson for the Florida Citrus Commission when she went on an anti-gay political c*****e.
[And the grape boycott supporting the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee helped the union win rights for thousands of workers]
Image source: Jeramy_Jones, U.S. Navy
#18
Nike, Gap and kathie lee gifford brands in the 90’s which forced transparency on sweatshop and child labor in china and vietnam.
Image source: NoSir6400, Thomas Serer
#19
Too early to say if it’s successful yet, but there is a sizable boycott of CBS going on now because of Bari Weiss’ push to a different political stance and canceling the Late Show.
Image source: Peg_Leg_Vet, appshunter.io
#20
“In 1984, 11 Dunnes Stores employees (predominantly young women) in Dublin Ireland began a nearly three-year strike after shop worker Mary Manning was suspended for refusing to handle South African produce. This act of defiance against the apartheid regime led to Ireland banning South African goods, becoming the first Western nation to do so.”.
Image source: ArdRi6, Chris Whippet
#21
Backcountry.com
Jonathan Nielsen k****d the company by suing people and trying trademark the term “backcountry”. Guy is a masterclass failure turning a massively successful company into dust being on a power trip.
People started boycotting after multiple lawsuits were filed by Nielsen’s regime in 2019. Company was sold in 2024 after a crash course in not f*****g with your clientele.
Image source: Thatassholeguy01
#22
The grape boycott, led by the Farm Workers Union, for better pay and working conditions. Everyone with a heart in the USA got on board. No one bought grapes.
Image source: buried_lede, Günter Hoffmann
#23
Ever since the honey browser extension has been exposed for its shady business practices, it seems to have been struggling. They’ve lost nearly 50% of all their users and have faced class action lawsuits. Also, some browsers have completely disabled or disallowed their practices of stealing money via changing the affiliate code.
Image source: RustyRayWay, MegaLag
#24
Recently Microsoft/xbox lowered the price of game pass subscription from $30 to $22.99. 7 months ago they raised the price from $20 to $30 and the 50% price hike led to an unsurprising amount of people canceling their subscription.
Image source: shadowmaster878, Kamil Switalskiash.com/photos/white-xbox-controller-6LeTnsPD1wc
#25
The current boycott of Target over its handling of DEI caused its stock to fall by 33% in 8 months last year. I have not shopped at Target since January 2025.
After Disney pulled Kimmel, viewers revolted. Disney lost a ton of subscribers on its platforms and revenue to its properties.
McDonald’s attributed a $7B dip to protests over Israel funding/Gaza. In that same vein, Starbucks has had declining sales for six consecutive fiscal quarters.
Image source: PlusPresentation680, Visual Karsa
#26
Shell in the 90s in Europe. They wanted to dispose of the Brent Spar Oil Platform by just sinking it in the North Sea. I remember their gas stations completely emtpy and finally they had to tow the station on land for disposal.
Image source: MrSavok, Krish Parmar
#27
According to my dad. His boycott of Quiznos has led to their demise.
Image source: dking484, Modern Business
#28
I mean, no so much a business, but a movie. The initial previews for the first Sonic The Hedgehog movie were so poorly reacted to, that they reanimated and delayed the movie.
And it worked out well for them.
Image source: The_Dingman, Sonic Destiny
#29
Kat Von D. People boycotted for Kat Von D herself being a anti-vaxxer and a n**i sympathizer. Brand got renamed before it completely fell off.
Lime Crime. Doe Deere the creator and owner was an awful person, left the company but the company still went under because the name had been tarnished.
EDIT: Apparently Lime Crime is still around! It still lost a lot of its original market space though. .
Image source: wishuponamarsbar, thekatvond
#30
Public transit in Montgomery, Alabama
EDIT: During the 1950s Civil Rights movement, since not everyone on Reddit is American. My bad. You snide commenters can put your pitchforks down now.
Image source: thethriftstorian, Ashton Bingham
#31
It’s been glorious to watch the backlash on Target and what a big impact it’s had. I can’t believe those idiots blew that so hard. All of us upwardly mobile middle aged women used to love going there to drop a couple hundred bucks even if we only needed deodorant. I spent thousands per year there for as long as I can remember. Haven’t spent a dime there since they showed exactly who they are. Feels amazing to watch them flounder.
Image source: TeaWithKermit
#32
Many people would have heard of the Big4 auditors – PWC, EY, KPMG and Deloitte.
Used to be the Big5 – until the Enron scandal broke (soon followed by the WorldCom scandal) and it was found that their ‘independent’ audit firm *Arthur Andersen* had been cooking the books.
It’s clients started cutting ties with it and in a matter of months a century old firm with nearly 30,000 employees was defunct.
Image source: J_Kant
#33
Heinz in Canada. French ketchup sales flew off.
Image source: Et_boy
#34
1980’s McDonalds. Successful boycott ended food served in Styrofoam containers.
Image source: SoundOk4573
#35
I started boycotting Ticketscamster and Live Nation 20 years ago and it’s finally paying off … ya’ll can thank me later ….
Image source: Woolybugger00
#36
Sea World after the movie Black Fish.
Image source: bob49877
#37
Tesla sure isn’t doing so hot.
Image source: CheersToCosmopolitan
