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LL Bean is in a tough spot today. The brand is struggling to maintain its political neutrality while also being praised by Donald Trump for the campaign support he received from one of its board members.
In a tweet thanking L.L.Bean heiress Linda Bean—granddaughter of founder Leon Leonwood Bean—for her support, President-elect Donald Trump told his Twitter followers to "buy L.L.Bean." He also linked to a small newsletter account run under Linda Bean's name. The president-elect's tweet was clearly a direct response to Linda Bean's appearance this morning on Fox & Friends, where she said she was being "bullied" by Trump critics over her support of a pro-Trump PAC....
This holiday, a few lucky consumers in Italy will have a new way to communicate with their loved ones—with a high-tech message in a Coke bottle. The sugar water giant, with help from agencies David and Gigigo, will be selling special limited-edition bottles of Coca-Cola, featuring electronic caps that can record a 30-second message, and then play it back when someone twists open the beverage. Available at two stores in Sicily, the bottles will also be distributed among influencers in Central and Eastern Europe, as a test case for further sale next year....
Weight Watchers sent lightbulbs like this to female journalists.
The intention was innocent enough – promote a positive body image among women. But the delivery was not so subtle.
Weight Watchers dipped their toes in the "PG sex toy" industry this week, sending out low wattage light bulbs to users – designed to give users a "boost in the bedroom".
But public relations expert, Mike Hutcheson slammed the stunt as fattist, ill-judged and probably "written by a snot-ass skinny person"....
Cannes Lions has its second cringeworthy moment, this time from a Bronze Lion winner. The outdoor ad, for Bayer from AlmapBBDO in Sao Paulo, reads "Don't worry babe, I'm not filming this.mov" and features aspirin boxes. Cindy Gallop, the former agency exec and vocal women's advocate, has again brought attention to Cannes Lions ceremony tweeting a photo of the ad and commenting, "Don't use this to sell aspirin, male-dominated ad industry [and] don't award it, male dominated juries." UPDATE: Bayer has asked the agency to discontinue the campaign....
Last week, Coca-Cola suspended its Super Bowl-timed, automated social campaign #MakeItHappy, when Gawker tricked the brand into tweeting out a number of lines from Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.” In the campaign, Coke asked people to respond to negative tweets with positive ones — using an ASCII code to convert their tweets into images like singing cats and sunglass-wearing palm trees.
But while the soda giant may have been left as red-faced as its signature cans after this debacle, it’s not the first time the use of automated replies on Twitter has backfired on a brand.
Here’s a look at some of the biggest recent brand fails in automation on Twitter...
JOY—the fashion chain that has 26 locations throughout the UK—is the latest brand to create unnecessary controversy by tweeting something stupid.
The trouble started yesterday when a customer complained via Twitter about a greeting card that the store has for sale.
At first glance, I didn’t find this card offensive. But that’s the thing about offense: I don’t get to decide what’s sincerely offensive to other people; they do.
And if a customer makes their sincere objection to this greeting card known to JOY, the company—at the very least—should know better than to antagonize the person who complained.Instead, JOY said this....
Earlier today, Paramount Pictures Australia tweeted a poster which features the Ninja Turtles jumping from an exploding building. No problem, right? How about if the release date for the film in Australia is September 11th? Still not a problem, you say?
How about if the poster that was tweeted has the Ninja Turtles jumping from a New York City building that’s exploding with "SEPTEMBER 11" in bold lettering at the bottom? And Leonardo has a NYC pin in blue and white just so you’re extra-aware that you’re in New York City?...
The great thing about social media is that it allows whatever stupid thing you want to say to reach your audience instantly. The terrible thing about social media is that it allows whatever stupid thing you want to say to reach your audience instantly. It takes about 30 seconds of thought to accurately gauge whether your brilliant marketing gimmick will build brand engagement or be prosecuted as some kind of hate crime in certain countries in Europe.
The folks on this list did not take those 30 seconds......
Healbe finished up its Indiegogo scampaign for its miracle, calorie-counting wristband on April 15 with promises to ship in June. As we have reported previously, even if the product was suddenly scientifically possible (which it isn’t), that was a really tough deadline to meet. For one thing, manufacturing a complicated electronic product in two months would be unheard of and, for another, when photos of its prototype leaked online, hardware experts who we showed them to commented that it looked rough and primitive.
Well, after Healbe had teased that it would be releasing its June delivery schedule this week… it turns out we were right....
...It seems that luck is a simple affair – if you don’t get a parking ticket while having sex in your car, you’re one of the lucky ones amongst us. However, if you don’t self-report as ‘lucky’ in an online survey, it’s clearly your own fault: However, two in five people who say they are unlucky have never done anything superstitious to turn around their luck with 61 per cent of them saying they would happily walk under a ladder.
There may be a very good reason why people considered to be unlucky haven’t gone out of their way to ‘turn their luck around’, namely that that isn’t really a thing. But, far be it to point out such minor details, when the stakes of poor luck are so high: Unlucky people are also twice as likely to be single and will probably not have any children.
Naturally, the company who paid for this ‘research’ have their own vested axe to grind:
Online video ads were supposed to be a marketer’s dream. Instead, many become lost in an unruly maze.
...According to the standard spiel, ads in this medium are alluring because they can be aimed at specific audiences. They can roll in front of content that people want to see. They exist in the digital space where coveted demographic groups are spending more time. It’s an enticing portrait, but one that glosses over an essential question: Is anybody watching? By many estimates, more than half of online video ads are not seen, either because they are buried low on web pages or run in tiny, easily ignored video players on those pages, or run simultaneously with other ads. Vindico, an ad management platform company, deemed 57 percent of two billion video ads surveyed over two months to be “unviewable.”...
Samsung may be learning a lesson this week that most of us observed by watching Mr. Smith a long time ago: What flies in Hollywood doesn’t having any relation to the real politick of Washington, D.C. And so it is that headlines are calling out both Samsung and Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz for “punking” the President with a moment reminiscent of Ellen DeGeneres’ selfie-fulfilling prophecy at the Oscars that did, indeed, set a record for the most retweets....
Is all fair in love and marketing? Check out some recent notorious marketing moves and judge for yourself.
Fashion house Valentino has apologized for its tacky press release sent Friday enthusing that actress Amy Adams was spotted at Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s wake in New York City carrying one of their bags. In addition to misspelling the name of the bag, the Valentino rep included two photos of a grim-looking Adams – reportedly a good friend of the deceased – clutching the ridiculously expensive Italian bag....
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Christmas – the biggest commercial event of the year – is well and truly underway. But with the number of visitors to UK shops falling by 9 per cent last year and online booming, there should be plenty of content to push people into the sales funnel. With this in mind we had a quick look at what Outbrain had to offer. Purely at random, we picked an article on poor working conditions at a JD Sports warehouse. Not very Christmassy, but in our experience it wouldn’t make any difference to the Outbrain content if it was an opt-in by Santa Claus himself. To be more specific, there should be tons of retailers firing off articles with present ideas for kids that link back to products. Or what about affiliate sites doing the same thing and kicking back links to Amazon? There was nothing, unless you’re planning to put through a PPI claim as a gift....
As Text: "Fortunately, the Air Dri-Goat features a patented, goat-like out sole for increased traction, so you can taunt mortal injury without actually experiencing it. Right about now you're probably asking yourself, "How can a trail running shoe with an outer sole designed like a goat's hoof help me avoid compressing my spinal cord into a Slinky on the side of some unsuspecting conifer, thereby rendering me a drooling, misshapen, non-extreme-trail-running husk of my former self, forced to roam the Earth in a motorized wheelchair with my name, embossed on one of those cute little license plates you get at carnivals or state fairs, fastened to the back?" To that we answer, hey, have you ever seen a mountain goat (even an extreme mountain goat) careen out of control into the side of a tree? Didn't think so." Nike pulled the ad after receiving a slew of complaints....
Gold's Gym is acting quickly today to defuse a PR crisis sparked by an Egyptian franchisee who created a social media post that showed a pear and said "This Is No Shape for a Girl." (UPDATE: The gym chain has posted a lengthy explanation and apology on Facebook, where the company says it has terminated its franchisee agreement with the location behind the ad. See below for the company's full statement.) While the Egyptian location has apologized for the image, it remains in circulation on social media, with many thinking it's an official marketing image for the gym chain. This morning, Gold's Gym's official Twitter account has been responding to many of the ad's critics....
To the public, Jared Fogle was a geekishly charming icon of personal dedication and accomplishment. But few knew the real Jared, a man frequently driven by his sexual obsession with underage girls.
Court documents filed by prosecutors Wednesday—and acknowledged as true by Fogle's attorney—detail years of sordid sexual activities by Fogle, who regularly spent time with prostitutes while traveling for work, in part as Subway's best-known pitchman.
Prosecutors say Fogle had an opportunity to do the right thing in 2011 when he learned his charitable foundation director was secretly filming children to create pornography. Instead, Fogle reportedly encouraged the exploitation, a decision that resulted in 11 other children being victimized, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Debrota....
It can't all be perfect: the worst of content marketing in 2014 stuck to old frameworks at best, and furthered harmful stereotypes or outright offended at worst. It was a particularly rough year for some pretty major brands, especially on the social media front.
Luckily, their snafus can teach us all a little something about what to do better next year. So, as you're reading through our list of the worst of 2014, make some mental notes on what 2015 will look like.Without further ado....
The 50th anniversary publication of Roald Dahl's children's classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is leaving a bad taste in some mouths. Controversy surrounds the cover of the Penguin Modern Classics edition, which eschews Willy Wonka's fanciful factory, golden tickets, Oompa-Loompas and other familiar story elements. Instead, we get a stylized image of a young girl, quaffed to the hilt in colorful bows and silks, sitting in her mother's lap.
Detractors are denouncing the shot for sexualizing kids, and they deride its sleazy '60s vibe as inappropriate for a story geared toward young people. They have a valid point, though in fairness, the broader meaning of the image is open to all sorts of interpretations. (It's not overtly sexual. I mean, we don't see Wonka's willy, thank goodness.)...
The first half of 2014 is already in the books, and it looks like a lot of marketers and companies didn’t learn anything from last year about social media. Many brands still made a number of bad judgments and stumbled when it came to handling their social profiles, which led to backlash and a tarnished image for some.
Mistakes can happen anytime, and with half the year already over, now is a great time to discuss some of 2014’s biggest marketing and social media blunders so far. With five full months ahead, this should serve as a great lesson for all individuals, brands, and companies trying to market themselves to the public.
Here are some things to keep in mind: - It’s easy to post things on social media, especially on Facebook and Twitter. Remember, though, that backlash can come just as swiftly and easily. Sure, people make mistakes from time to time, but with all the previous instances, everyone should know by now how not to act in public, especially if you’re representing a brand known the world over....
...As Kiera Butler noted on Mother Jones, Chick-fil-A—whose chicken sandwich is stuffed with 27 grams of fat, 1750 milligrams of sodium, and an ingredients list almost as long as the Declaration of Independence — is an odd fit to launch a wellness site.
It’s clearly an effort to change the image of a brand that’s currently recognized nearly as much for its stance against gay marriage than for its fast food, but in doing so, Chick-fil-A is dismissing two of the cardinal rules of content creation: don’t trick your consumers, and don’t piss them off.
It seems that no matter how good you think you are at cleaning, you’re just not up to scratch – missing those vital nooks and crannies where all manner of everyday dirt might hide and fester. If only there were a solution to your squalor! A spokesman for ContractCleaning.co.uk, who polled their employees, said: ‘We appear to be a nation of clumsy people, and not only that we’re lazy as well, with many people admitting they’ve never once cleaned behind the fridge.
Given that this story was created and pushed into the news by a professional cleaning company, it’s little surprise that the results condemned our cleanliness so. That said, there’s a silver lining here: ContractCleaning.co.uk created this story by polling its employees… therefore, what we’ve really discovered, if this story is true (usual caveats apply, there), is that people who hire professional cleaners to clean their homes are utterly filthy.
A global ad agency has sparked outrage with its mattress firm cartoon promo showing Pakistani teen Malala Yousafzai being shot in the head.
Ogilvy & Mather is catching serious heat for the sick illustration for Indian bedding firm Kurl-On that sees the young schoolgirl "bouncing back" from being hit by a Taliban gunman.
In the advert Malala is shot in the face, falls backwards covered in blood and is treated in hospital.
But then, after bouncing off the mattress, she receives an award wearing her trademark pink and gold hijab....
Note to self: Never mention a celebrity on Twitter from a company account. Recently, it hasn't worked out well for two different brands.
A few weeks ago, people were in an uproar over Red Sox slugger Big Papi's selfie with the President. Then, last week, Katherine Heigl issued a lawsuit to Duane Reade for posting a paparazzi photo of her on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Here's what they posted on Twitter (Facebook's post was almost identical)...
Before the “selfie” term was coined, many people were already figuring out ways to take photos of themselves...
Before the “selfie” term was coined, many people were already figuring out ways to take photos of themselves, whether it be with digital cameras, smartphones, or even film cameras back in the day. Safe to say “selfies” aren’t exactly new per se.
However with the term having been officially coined, it seems that there is now a mental disorder associated with it as well.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, the act of taking a selfie can be considered a mental disorder. The disorder has been labeled selfitis and is defined as an obsessive compulsive desire to take photos of oneself and publish it onto social media, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and so on..
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Like oil and water, politics and marketing never mix. Mixed blessings indeed.