Businesses are using Luigi Mangione memes for marketing

Avoiding controversy is a basic marketing principle — but in the wake of Luigi Mangione's arrest in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, some small businesses are embracing it.

Why it matters: Individuals and brands have waded into uncharted territory since Thompson's broad-daylight killing — openly embracing both an act of violence and the alleged perpetrator.

Zoom out: Murder suspects tend to be persona non grata, but Mangione occupies a unique position, having become an avatar for challenging corporate greed following his arrest this week.

• He's become enough of a folk hero that some businesses are comfortable associating with him — or at least, with the memes about him.

Zoom in: One "I am Spartacus"-type meme format that went viral featured users claiming to be Mangione's alibi for Thompson's killing, often featuring crudely-edited images of the suspect.

• Eclectic Events, a professional DJ and entertainment service based in Fresno, California, got in on the trend, posting an edited photo with the caption, "I just wanna thank our friend Luigi Mangione for his secret appearance at our Dec.4th pop up between the hours of 6am - 6pm."
• A Houston, Texas-based personal injury lawyer, an Albany, New York-based video game store, and a smoke shop chain all made similar posts in the last few days.
• That's on top of the merch that's flooded the internet, which Amazon has been pulling.

Between the lines: Thompson's killing reinvigorated a national debate about the American health insurance industry and its behavior.

• Following Thompson's death, renewed backlash to the industry as a whole led to widespread critique of a recent Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield policy change, which limited coverage for surgical anesthesia — a plan quickly reversed following public outcry.
• United Healthcare denies claims more than other insurers, refusing an estimated one-third of submitted claims, according to the most recent available data. That statistic specifically gained a lot of traction on social media following Thompson's shooting, as well as accusations that UnitedHealthcare uses algorithms to deny treatments and refuse coverage of nursing care to stroke patients, The New York Times reported.

• UnitedHealth Group's shares are down 14% since Thompson's killing, suggesting investors fear a regulatory crackdown in response to the public outcry. (Shares in other large listed insurers like Cigna and Humana are down sharply too.)

Catch up quick: Thompson was fatally shot in the back on Dec. 4 outside a midtown Manhattan hotel while visiting New York for an investor meeting.

• Police said the shooting appeared to be targeted, as reports indicated the words "deny," "defend" and "depose" were written on shell casings found at the scene.
• Following Mangione's arrest, a book criticizing the insurance industry called "Delay, Deny, Defend" skyrocketed to the top of an Amazon bestseller list.