Morgan Spurlock Is Canceled

“The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” is a cheeky expose of both the positives and associated evils of the world of advertising. The brainchild documentarian of Morgan Spurlock, the film comments on the temperamental nature of sponsorship and advertising. Spurlock explores the impacts advertising has on our everyday life through the tone of comedy. “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” takes “selling yourself” to new heights. The film begs the question, however, how much of an impact can one man have on a brand?

Morgan Spurlock makes it his goal to be a walking advertisement by the film's end. However, Spurlock's reputation in the media proves to be his most challenging obstacle. His career took off after releasing his documentary “Supersize Me”. The film depicts Spurlock's “Supersize Challenge,” in which he ate three McDonald's meals a day every day (and nothing else) for 30 days. The film gained traction because it depicted the diet's health impacts on Spurlock during and following the experience. He reported depression, puffiness, and severe liver dysfunction. Following the documentary, Spurlock's girlfriend created “The Detox Diet” for him to lose the weight he had put on during the experiment. The diet became so popular Alexandra Jamieson published the diet and started a massive detox trend in American health culture. This facilitated a huge push back specifically against fast food and the Mcdonald's corporation. However, an enormous scandal soon ensued. Spurlock's admitted in an interview that he hadn't been "sober for more than a week" in three decades, calling the claims of his liver dysfunction being caused by eating McDonald's food solely for 30 days into question. It additionally exposed how the self-proclaimed health fanatic is an alcoholic.

Without the specifics of the scandal being discussed, the question of his popularity and credibility were discussed in the film. For the context of the film, advertisers wouldn't be just associating with the Morgan Spurlock brand; they would be associating with Morgan Spurlock, the tangible human being. Ultimately, 23 brands ended up affiliating themselves with Morgan Spurlock.

The question that comes to mind, particularly in the wake of recent social movements such as the #MeToo Movement, is what happens when a brand associates itself with a person who isn't who they claim to be? Are we so consumed by cancel-culture that we are willing to take down entire companies over the actions of a single individual? Take Pom Wonderful for example. Pom Wonderful slapped its name all over Morgan Spurlock and even paid a million dollars to have their name in the title of Spurlock's documentary. Pom Wonderful is owned by The Wonderful Company, parent company to brands like Fiji Water and Wonderful Pistachios. Pom Wonderful stated its devotion to Morgan Spurlock in 2011. In 2017 during the height of the #MeToo movement, Spurlock was accused of the rape of two underage girls and multiple accounts of sexual harassment dating back to his college days. Spurlock stepped down from his production company, one day after he published a post saying that he had committed sexual misconduct in the past, including settling a harassment allegation, rape accusations, and cheating on his wives and girlfriends. Needless to say, Morgan Spurlock is canceled. Does that mean that all of the brands associated with Spurlock and “The Greatest Film Ever Sold” are canceled too? Is Pom Wonderful the official drink of all alcoholic women abusers?