When it comes to controversial advertising campaigns, they usually don’t have to do with income taxes. But a short-lived campaign from enterprise software company Intuit, which makes TurboTax, crossed that line and raised the ire of accountants.

Forbes’ Kelly Phillips Erb writes about the saga, in which a consumer-targeted message intended to be a bit cheeky and punny ended up insulting a group of professionals who actually rely on Intuit’s products. The centerpiece of the campaign is an advertisement in which a young woman announces to a bland-looking accountant that she’s leaving him for a younger and more fashionable man on her phone “who charges me less but gives me more” as part of a “tax break-up.” The younger man represents Intuit’s “TurboTax Full Service plan,” featuring human tax preparers who work with customers online or in person to complete their taxes.

Tax preparers, who have competed with TurboTax for many years, felt the campaign went too far. The unflattering portrayal of the accountant, plus the barrage of messaging telling consumers to “break up” with them, made many individuals and organizations upset. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants President and CEO Barry Melancon issued a statement saying, “The crucial role of CPAs, who serve as expert and trusted advisors to business owners and individuals, was not reflected in an unfortunate recent ad campaign launched by Intuit.” And the National Association of Tax Professionals said it will no longer accept Intuit’s sponsorships or exhibits at its conference because of the campaign’s “direct conflict with our members’ interests.” Predictably, Intuit decided to phase out the campaign.

While TurboTax is a well-known Intuit product, it’s only one. The company also owns QuickBooks and Mailchimp—financial management and email marketing platforms used by many businesses, including accountants—as well as consumer budgeting tool Credit Karma. In its last fiscal year, the bulk of Intuit’s growth came from those using its enterprise financial planning and email software. TurboTax online made up less than a quarter of the company’s total fiscal year revenues.

Intuit may be seeking more consumer tax business, but it may have damaged its larger customer base by trying to be funny. An average consumer may have giggled at the ad, but it seems unlikely that it would end up getting the desired results, especially since most consumers aren’t thinking about income tax prep in October. Instead, with this campaign, Intuit might have inspired more financial professionals to break up with them.

Finding the right emotional balance is an important tool to make a campaign successful. Reticle AI is using artificial intelligence to determine the emotions that are present in campaigns, helping marketers strike the proper tone to get their messages across. I talked to Vice President of Business Development Tricia Allen about how this works. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.

Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

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