John Cena Met a 7-year old Cancer Survivor, and it Was Staged, but Who Cares?

John Cena, one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE, was part of a terrific moment Monday night: He announced to the crowd during Monday Night Raw that there was a special fighter in the arena that night, a 7-year old girl who overcame her battle with cancer. In less than 48 hours, the video has nearly a million views.

Did the WWE likely stage all of this to build up some goodwill in a moment they knew would go viral? Hey look what the wrestlers did! They’re not all drug-using knuckledraggers! It’s almost certain that on a larger corporate level that’s what happened.

"philanthropy is the future of marketing, it's the way brands r going 2 win" -@biz Stone co-founder @twitter #WWEBPS pic.twitter.com/KEI3i4zdbg
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) March 28, 2015

And it helps John Cena’s brand, too – maybe that’s why he’s been popping up on the Today Show in recent months. Nobody wants to wrestle forever, right?

In the age of social media, this sort of branded philanthropy is happening far more frequently, especially at football games. The NFL is the most popular sport in the country, but it has a negative perception among the people who matter most: Housewives. The NFL has plenty of female fans, but as the head injuries mount, the barbarianism escalates, and the off-field troubles continue, how many housewives will want their young songs playing football? What will the NFL look like in 30 years?

Enter these cute-but-staged heartwarming moments where military members return home to see their family and surprise! It’s at an NFL game with the cameras rolling. Adorable and important for the individuals reunited? Definitely. Staged for publicity? Often.

There’s a fine line between being a brand liaison and watching one of these videos and genuinely feeling, well that’s a really nice gesture. Has that line been drawn? By whom?

I watched this John Cena video this morning and thought 1) damn, that’s a really nice thing and then 2) well, it was almost certainly staged by the WWE and put exclusively on their WWE Network feed, but who cares, this moment probably made this 7-year old’s week/month/year. (Also, I had just read this story Tuesday and it wrecked me.)

In this black and white world, is it possible to grasp that this is a staged moment to help the WWE’s brand, but at the same time appreciate what it probably meant to the young kid?