Ericka Lewis
Social media marketing requires creativity, ingenuity, great timing, and a little bit of luck. It's a double-edged sword that can lead to magnanimous success with the right strategy and catastrophic failures with a single faux pas. Speaking of faux pas, here are a few companies that took their marketing efforts a little bit too far in an effort to achieve the golden standard of "going viral."
1. Under Armour Tries And Fails With A WWII Shirt And Facebook Post
There was nothing ironic or sporty about the Battle of Iwo Jima. Unfortunately, Under Armour didn't get the memo. They issued a shirt that was aptly named "Band of Ballers" and depicted the silhouettes of four men trying to erect a basketball net. The shirt mimicked the infamous photograph of the U.S. flag being raised in victory after the Battle of Iwo Jima. The shirt was initially promoted on social media via Twitter and Facebook, but in the wake of complaints, Under Armour realized its error and quickly pulled the posts. The company later apologized for its error in judgment.
2. Bloomingdale's In-Print and Digital Representation of Spiking Your BFF's Drink
Bloomingdale made a marketing campaign blunder when it decided to create an in-print and digital advertisement that featured a male eyeing a woman. The caption for the photo reads, “Spike your best friend’s eggnog when they’re not looking.” Understandably, the advertisement was not well received. Outrage and contempt sparked all over social media, which prompted the all too common "sincere" apology in 140 characters on Twitter.
3. Bud Light's 'Up for Whatever' Marketing Campaign
Like Bloomingdale, Bud Light created a campaign that was targeted around drinking. Unfortunately for the beer company, they thought it would be a good idea to use social media to market the perfect beverage "for removing 'No' from your vocabulary for the night." The slogan was emblazoned on the bottle's label and quickly sparked an apology from the company.
4. Seahawks Tweet Out In Poor Taste
Early in 2015 the Seattle Seahawks used Twitter to proclaim their excitement over a win over the Green Bay Packers. The tweet read, "We shall overcome #MLKDay." In incredibly poor taste the team had decided to use Martin Luther King Jr. to celebrate the team and its football prowess. They went one step forward down the road to social media marketing fail by including a tearing-up photo of quarterback Russell Wilson, with an MLK quote that read, " Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
5. IHOP Attempts and Fails At Breast Humor on Twitter
Equating a pancake to a woman's breasts is in poor form. Unfortunately, IHOP thought that this comparison would do wonders for their marketing campaign. They tweeted out a suggestive image of a stack of pancakes that was accompanied with the caption, “flat but has a GREAT personality.”
Within two hours of tweeting out the image, the international restaurant chain had deleted its tweet and issued an apology. The company stated, "Earlier today we tweeted something dumb and immature that does not reflect what IHOP stands for. We’re sorry.”
Well there you have it. Five of the most epic, and well, embarrassing social media marketing fails in 2015. Let's hope they've learned their lessons and won't be making a comeback on our list next year.
Remember folks, social media is a two-way street -- a conversation between you and your audience. Avoid unfortunate mishaps like these by taking the time to truly know your audience, making it a point to communicate in a language they'll appreciate, always seeking to share something meaningful and valuable (not just for buzz), and being respectful of the issues and things that matter to them. You don't have to be boring; you can be as creative as you want but take these pointers in and think twice before you start a campaign you think might elicit some controversy. Most of all, in the event you make a mistake (we all do once in awhile), recover gracefully by acknowledging your misstep and aptly apologizing.
