Brands were quick to capitalize on the viral “yanny or laurel” debate this week by stubbornly choosing a side, remaining neutral or inviting conversation on social media.

The debate started last week when high school student Katie Hetzel was working on a school project that recorded a computerized pronunciation of the word “laurel” from their computer speakers. Other students in the room discovered that they heard different things so Hetzel posed the question to their Instagram followers. Soon after, fellow student Roland Szabo, posting as RolandCamry, posed the question to Reddit. Other students posted the clip as well across social media and the debate has gained considerable traction ever since.

So what’s the correct answer? While the recording originated from “laurel,” examining Hetzel’s low-quality recording reveals that both words can be heard at different frequencies—”laurel” at low frequencies” and “yanny” at high.

People are responding to the debate in the thousands—let’s examine how brands have joined the conversation.

Team Laurel

Brands that heard “laurel” created memes to express their frustration about how anyone could interpret the clip any other way.

Warby Parker was a bit more subtle, promoting its Laurel model of glasses but calling it Yanny.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi2aV4Jhp8R/?tagged=yanny

Team Yanny

Others, hearing the higher tones of “yanny,” defended their position on the matter with equal ferocity.

Embracing Both Sides

Not wanting to alienate any customers, most brands decided to show support for both “yanny” and “laurel” listeners. Some asked users to respond with the word they heard more clearly.

Staying Out Of It Altogether

Some brands merely commented on the debate rather than choose a side.

https://twitter.com/CaptainMorganUS/status/996758373537406976

Hearing What You Want

It has been suggested that what listeners hear on the recording can also be influenced by previous experiences and preconceived notions. Some brands dodged the debate by “hearing what they wanted,” inserting different audio into the clip.