Seizing the Social Moment on X Is a Dangerous Game for Brands

Whatever you think about Wendy’s comments lamenting Katy Perry’s return from space, one aspect of the fracas is beyond dispute: Brands on X have touched the third rail like this before. Many, many times before. First, a quick recap. On April 14, an all-female crew that included Perry, Lauren Sanchez, and Gayle King blasted off in Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket on an 11-minute suborbital mission. When Pop Crave announced that “Katy Perry has returned from space,” Wendy’s replied: “Can we send her back.” Snarky? Without a doubt. Offensive? Depends who you ask. One fan responded: “I’m going to have Wendy’s for dinner tonight because of this tweet.” But many women—including Perry—were hurt by the swipe. “We understand the internet loves a joke, but there’s a clear difference between humor and targeted hostility,” an unidentified source close to the mission told the New York Post’s Page Six. “This was a billion-dollar brand using its platform to publicly demean a woman.” Wendy’s has attempted to mollify Perry by calling her an “out-of-the-world talent,” but at press time had not retracted its posting. What’s surprising here isn’t so much that a burger chain has stepped in the poop over a very popular female vocalist, but that social media missteps—and sometimes far worse—are still happening. Twitter, which became X in July 2023, has been with us for close to 19 years now, yet somehow the fumbles have kept coming. Below, five striking examples. Chrysler — March 9, 2011 In the 2011 Super Bowl, Chrysler aired “Imported from Detroit,” a two-minute paean to the Motor City that starred Eminem and won plaudits from millions of viewers. Weeks later, the automaker undid much of the goodwill that had cost $12 million in airtime to win. It took just one tweet from New Media Strategies, a now-defunct firm the automaker had hired to be clever and funny online. “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to fucking drive,” read the post. Leaving aside that Eminem is possibly the most proficient f-bomb dropper in music history, Chrysler came under fire for its four-letter propensities. After issuing a boilerplate apology (“Chrysler Group and its brands do not tolerate inappropriate language…”), New Media Strategies fired its foul-mouthed employee, and Chrysler fired New Media Strategies. Home Depot — Nov. 7, 2013 During ESPN’s College GameDay, Home Depot—a sponsor of the event—posted a photo on Twitter of three football fans drumming on the home improvement brand’s signature orange buckets. Two of the fans were Black and the third wore an ape costume. The Tweet: “Which drummer is not like the others?” The blatantly racist tweet had reportedly originated with an agency employee—a detail that mattered not at all to an online audience in shock from seeing it. The company pulled the post almost immediately, but not before screenshots made the inevitable rounds. On bent knee, corporate took to Twitter to apologize. “We have zero tolerance for anything so stupid and offensive,” it said. “Deeply sorry.” Home Depot terminated the “individual who posted it” and, for good measure, the agency too. Stone Brewing Company — March 1, 2018 As offensive tweets go, it was a three-for-one. In 2018, the maker of Arrogant Bastard Ale posted a message that likened drinking beer to oral sex, scoffed at the idea of informed consent—and posted this viewpoint just before Women’s History Month. The tweet included lines such as “Put me in your mouth. Make an ‘Mmm’ sound. Swallow,” and “Only wussies do the ‘ask permission’ part.” The post stayed up for 46 minutes, an eternity in internet time, before the brand pulled it. Then co-founder Greg Koch apologized for the “inappropriate tweet” that “carried an underlying message referencing sexual consent that was not intended, or even realized at the time.” Some, of course, questioned how anyone could have failed to see the sexual innuendo in the first place. To expiate the matter, Koch promised to put only female employees in charge of the company’s Twitter account from that point forward. Burger King UK — March 8, 2021 Ostensibly, the across-the-pond outpost of the fast-food chain was attempting to call attention to the need for gender equality in restaurants and publicize a new scholarship program. Accordingly, on International Women’s Day, the company seized an age-old sexist saying and attempted to turn it into a call to action. “Women belong in the kitchen,” it declared. Most people didn't pick up on the nuance. Realizing it was in trouble, the company first tried to clarify the troublesome tweet with a second tweet: “If they want to, of course,” the brand said, adding: “We’re on a mission to change the gender ratio in the restaurant industry.” By day’s end, Burger King gave up and just pulled the post. “We got our initial tweet wrong and we’re sorry,” it said. Pabst Blue Ribbon deleted its series of butt-centric tweets and replies. Pabst Blue Ribbon — Jan. 3, 2022 Dry January, the neo-teetotaler movement started by Alcohol Change UK in 2013, was a global phenom by 2022—and a sales nightmare for beer, wine and spirits brands. In a petulant mood, PBR tweeted: “Not drinking this January? Try eating ass!” While some seized the opportunity to redirect fire (“PBR or ass? What’s the difference?”), it was clear within hours that the brand had gone too far. The post came down. Responding to ADWEEK’s request for comment, marketing vp Nick Reely apologized over the tweet and admitted that it—and equally acidic follow-ups—”were written in poor judgement.” The brand was “handling the matter internally,” he added.

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Seizing the Social Moment on X Is a Dangerous Game for Brands

The Wendy's-Katy Perry feud is just the latest in two decades of apologies—and no lessons learned.

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Robert Klara

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