15 WTF Corporate Tweets That Definitely Got Someone Fired
Reaching out to customers can backfire spectacularly.
There are few things more entertaining than massive corporations completely screwing up, and thanks to Twitter, these public relations disasters now receive more attention than ever before. Some of the most profitable brands in the world spend millions of dollars on social media strategies, yet it seems like almost every few weeks, one of them is apologizing for a dumb tweet that offended everyone.
Usually the mistake will dominate the news for a few hours before being forgotten, but these 15 are just so perplexing that they deserve a second look. Imagine the shock of following Home Depot on Twitter, only to see a blatantly racist picture on their official account. Or how about when a giant pizza company made a joke about domestic violence?
As insane as these tweets all seem, none appear to have been the result of hacking. No, some idiots actually thought these statements and promotions were good ideas, and now their stupidity will live on the Internet forever.
15. SpaghettiOs Commemorates Pearl Harbor Anniversary With Goofy Image
For whatever reason, brands on Twitter are constantly trying to make solemn occasions about them, and SpaghettiOs decided that the anniversary of a deadly military attack was a perfect time to remind people to buy canned pasta.
On December 7, 2013, the official SpaghettiOs account tweeted, "Take a moment to remember #PearlHarbor with us." The text itself isn't bad, but accompanying it is this ridiculous image of a SpaghettiO holding an American flag while smiling and licking its lips.
Sure, why not slap a wacky cartoon mascot onto a tweet commemorating the death of 2,500 people? That would be like Six Flags honoring the anniversary of 9/11 by having Mr. Six dance at ground zero.
Naturally, just about everyone who saw the tweet was outraged, baffled, or both, and it got thousands upon thousands of retweets for all the wrong reasons. SpaghettiOs deleted the tweet and apologized, writing, "We meant to pay respect, not to offend." Who could have guessed customers wouldn't see this picture of a piece of spaghetti as a sincere tribute?