JKR

The election protests in Iran were commented on here as proof of the power of Twitter and mobile phones generally. But Nokia phones are being boycotted by Iranians because the Nokia Siemens Network (NSN) sold communication monitoring systems to the Iranian government. Once brand leader, sales are plummeting and shops are removing Nokias from window displays. Meanwhile, NSN excused themselves by saying such systems come as a standard component of networks allowing lawful call intercepts (even apparently to regimes with a track record of repression).

The story has little to do with design, but the image top left by prominent Iranian cartoonist Hadi Heidari is bluntly powerful. It’s more direct and memorable as communication than anything I can recall from the brand itself. It will be interesting to see if Nokia’s image in the West becomes tainted with their activities in Iran. If so, would any amount of touchy feely branding be able to compensate?

Looking at other brands lampooned for their social transgressions (a few below), one suspects Nokia don’t really have a problem. Even the VW example, which is real rather than satire, seems to have given Volkswagen no long term trouble. As consumers, we seem to be quite able to turn a blind eye or forgive past mistakes if the brands are desirable or convenient to us. In the end, the design power still lies with the corporations, because that’s how we as consumers like it.