Empathy has been in short supply amid the pandemic. While many brands made a show of being empathetic, many said it felt false. Writing in Fast Company, Geoff Cottrill, the former marketer at Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Procter and Gamble, among others, noted, “Once brands felt it was safe to return, we were bombarded with empathy. Car companies, mobile phone providers, soft drinks, beer companies, insurance companies, technology companies—they all told us that they understood how we felt. They said they were ‘in this with us.’ They said we are going to ‘get through it together.’

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