The GameStop stock market situation has been a fascinating spectacle to watch unfold from the sidelines for the past week or so now. The situation that began as a result of the Wall Street Bets subreddit has essentially exploded into an unprecedented modern day phenomenon, resulting in a myriad of both good and bad outcomes for those involved.
One of those bad outcomes surrounds an investment and stock trading app called Robinhood, which came under an intense wave of outrage following its decision to restrict trading of GameStop stock during the height of the situation. Now, Robinhood has released a new commercial via Twitter that will supposedly air during the 2021 Super Bowl, and it's getting a fair bit of backlash on social media.
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Before the events of the past couple weeks, Robinhood had a very high reputation among investors thanks to the app's ease of use when getting involved in stock trading and investment. However, the company experienced intense backlash after delisting GameStop and AMC stocks while Wall Street Bets was influencing the market. Many users and investors took umbrage with this decision, resulting in the app getting review bombed with negative views for essentially protecting large hedge funds from further financial loss. As a result of all of this, Robinhood's reputation in the public eye has tanked significantly from the high position it sat comfortable on just a few weeks ago.
Now, it seems Robinhood's PR team is trying to mitigate the negative public image the app is cultivating following the GameStop stock situation. The commercial in question is clearly an attempt to show that Robinhood is an investment app for the everyman, displaying the slogan "we're all investors," while showing clips of normal people doing everyday activities like jogging working retail jobs. However, the commercial is already being torn apart by those on Twitter who are quick to point out the hypocrisy the commercial represents. One user going by the handle @Rafa87844055 says, "We're all investors until you say we're not and you shut down, right?"
Already, the tweet is being deluged by replies from users expressing their disappointment in both the app and the message of the commercial. At the time of writing, the post has garnered a mere 258 likes while reaching over 900 replies. Twitter isn't the only place where Robinhood has gotten copious amounts of hate, as the app garnered thousands of one star reviews online which Google deleted not long afterwards. If one thing is abundantly clear from this situation it's that a lot of people are not satisfied with Robinhood's course of action as of late.
It's hard to argue against the people angry with the app, though, as both the legality and morality of what Robinhood did with GameStop and AMC's stock is questionable at best. Robinhood has already been hit with lawsuits for putting a stop to GameStop trading in the midst of the event, and those lawsuits will no doubt have very strong cases in court. The decision to air a commercial like this during the 2021 Super Bowl is a bold move by Robinhood to say the least. Only time will tell if the decision pays off in the long run.
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