Meghan Markle’s latest business venture has run into controversy after a Spanish town accused the royal’s brand of copying its historic coat of arms.
The dispute, now under legal review by town officials in picturesque Porreres, Mallorca, highlights a fundamental misstep in branding and highlights the risk of reputational damage in ill-thought out work, as Josh Wheeler, founder of broadcast PR consultancy Be Broadcast concedes.
“This situation highlights the potential pitfalls of a high-profile rebrand,” he says. “Any brand – celebrity-backed or otherwise – needs to ensure thorough due diligence when it comes to intellectual property and design. Without it, there’s always a risk of unintended similarities leading to reputational challenges. A well-executed rebrand should strengthen credibility, not invite scrutiny.”
The Duchess announced the name change of her brand from American Riviera Orchard to “As Ever” in an Instagram video filmed in her Montecito garden this week.
It follows trademark issues with the previous name and the transition to “As Ever” was intended to provide a broader, more refined identity. Instead, it has landed those behind the rebrand in hot water.
For Wheeler it’s a situation that could, and possibly should, have been avoided: “You’d hope that with the level of scrutiny Meghan is under, her PR team would be looking ahead for issues like this,” he said. “She’s essentially a prime target for criticism, and people know that jumping on anything linked to her will get media traction.
“You’d think a team as well-funded as hers could afford to check the coats of arms before putting a logo out there. Surely, a quick reverse Google image search would catch something like this in seconds?”
The new logo features a palm tree with two birds on either side. But the Spanish town’s officials claim the design appears to copy their traditional emblem, which displays a palm tree in orange and green against a white background, with blackbirds positioned on either side. The town’s officials claim it has been part of their municipal identity since the 14th century.
Talent manager and celebrity PR consultant Carla Speight, no stranger to royal controversy herself, notes that the palm tree in the logo is actually one of South American origin, throwing some intriguing doubt over Porreres’ claims of cultural ownership, and agrees with Wheeler that much of the issue comes down to bad advice from the Sussexes’ team.
“This falls down to bad hiring, again,” she said. “You wouldn’t expect Steven Bartlett to go and check logos, so why would you expect Megan to?”
“I think that’s a strong reference – he wouldn’t check it, because he’s got teams to do that, as does she, but it’s like they’re forever going to be victims of bad hires.”
READ MORE: Steven Bartlett net worth: How Diary of a CEO star made his wealth as he announces huge move to US
Speight also has questions for Xisca Mora, Porrores’ mayoress, who is leading calls for Markle to stop using the logo: “It’s laughable that for the mayor, that’s their biggest problem,” she says. “All of the people that live there were protesting last year because they’ve let tourism take over, which has driven the house prices through the roof, which means that people who’ve got businesses there can’t live there. But Megan’s logo is their biggest problem,” she says.
“It’s a lazy tactic from a mayor that can’t actually deal with the issues going on in the town. As a woman who’s been on the receiving end of a significant amount of hate from her local people, you would think she’d know firsthand what it’s like to have a public backlash, so why would you encourage it? It’s no different than a troll.”
As for whether the latest furore could damage Markle’s ‘brand,’ Speight seems unconcerned: “Not at all. She’ got 1.9m followers on Instagram right now, and that’s only going to grow. That’s 1.9 million people that are potentially going to buy from her, so who’s laughing?
“I think her take on it, that rawness when she goes on on socials, is spectacular. She shows them they can’t be angry at her, because she’s super friendly and lovely, and eventually it’s going to get boring, because if you put yourself in that firing line and front it, like Diane did, like even Wallace Simpson did, because this is just history repeating itself, eventually people are going to give up and not be as angry anymore.
READ MORE: “We are not looking for political analysis”: How Donald Trump has taken over the UK broadcast media, and what that means for your brand
Speight adds that she can already see this happening with the couple to some degree: “It’s happening with Harry, because he stuck to his roots. He’s doing the philanthropy thing, he’s doing humanitarian causes and sticking to that. And so is she. They’ve had dreadful advice after dreadful advice, and this notion that they’re hard work is nonsense. It’s coming from crap people who couldn’t do their job.”
Wheeler agrees that Palm Treegate may not quite be the fatal blow to Markle’s public image that some in the tabloid media might like to paint it as: “Could Meghan and her team actually be playing everyone by doing things like this? I’m probably not the target demographic for her lifestyle brand, yet here I am talking about it, so is this actually a crowning achievement in publicity?”
He adds: “Let’s not forget the town itself, claiming they won’t sue but happily soaking up the free PR. Maybe this is the ultimate in co-branding. If Trump’s America doesn’t work out for the Sussexes, could we see them embracing the Majorcan Monarchy instead?”
