His Pabst Tweet Got Him Fired. But Here's His Biggest Regret

For social media marketers who reach a bit too far with their humor, the worst-case scenario is usually being fired. And yes, Corey Smale, who tweeted Pabst Blue Ribbon's "Try eating ass!" tweet, did indeed lose his job. But that's not what's bothering him two weeks after he was fired as the beer's brand manager for his attempt at a Dry January joke on the brand Twitter account. Speaking exclusively to Adweek, Smale says what's been on his mind is the responsibility that social media managers have in terms of creating a brand voice that doesn't just resonate with a core audience but also has buy-in from co-workers across the organization. Twitter user Jordan Pittman captured a screenshot of the deleted tweet. Smale, a veteran creative and frequent entrepreneur based in St. Louis, said the debate around his "eating ass" tweet—which was deleted along with some similarly themed replies by the brand—was an emotional reminder that a brand's social media never exists in a vacuum. "That affects everybody—even someone in accounting who isn't on Twitter," he says. "You have to think about it like, they work for the company that you do, too. You both get your check and your healthcare and your families are taken care of by the company. You want to do right by these people. You don't want to push too fucking hard, you know?" Below is a transcript of Smale's interview with Adweek. The interview has been edited for length. Adweek: First things first, why did you tweet from a brand account about eating ass?Corey Smale, former brand manager, Pabst Blue Ribbon: Because I didn't really tweet from a brand account about eating ass. But I did tweet, from Pabst Blue Ribbon, and it said "eating ass." And I fucked up. You mean, it wasn't literally about eating ass. Just metaphorically.Yeah. Would you say it was just a joke? How would you describe it?Too far in the right direction—which I think then crosses the line into the wrong direction. Trying to be loud on Twitter. And certainly, obviously, it was loud. It's tricky, because you're talking in Twitter language. But at the same time, you're held accountable for the way those words impact business way beyond Twitter.—Corey Smale There's a level of accountability that has to be understood, I guess, when a brand represents itself in its voice. It's tricky, because you're talking in Twitter language, you know what I mean? But at the same time, you're held accountable for the way those words impact business way beyond Twitter. It was wrong because it was wrong for PBR. They decided that, and I'm not going to disagree with that. I'm not going to say anything bad about PBR, either. Because I'm loyal. I don't want the discussion to be, "Is PBR right or wrong?" Because that's not what it is. I was wrong, and I was the one who did it. Did you have to run your tweets by anyone in advance? Or did you have autonomy to tweet what you wanted? I don't want to talk about the inner workings of it. I mean, you can kind of see for yourself, but I take full accountability. I take full accountability for everything that happened, for sure. Was it something where you were willing to dig in your heels on a principle of keeping the tweet out there? Did you fight against deleting it?No, not at all. Corey Smale How would you describe where it all stood at the end of the day?People talked about the brand, and with a little time and perspective we can see that it was favorable. Was it right, though, for the brand? No, because it wasn't right for the brand, you know, and it impacted the business. When did you find out that you had lost your job? I don't want to talk about any of the terms of the termination of my employment. Fair enough. What have you been up to since then? Working in my yard. Trying to remain grounded in community. At the same time, I want to get back out there and do some wild stuff. I recognize that what I was doing with PBR was a lot about community, just the way that we were speaking to the audiences. I hope we'll continue to see success in that. Because PBR, historically, currently and forever, will be connected to culture. It will. It is the DIY beer brand on that big level. It rocks. I fucking love it. I love PBR. The reason we were having so much fun is because the people that work on it love it. So what I'm working on is just grounding myself in community, being open to new projects and opportunities. Will I do social media? Maybe. I'm older, and it's a younger person's game. I'd rather have less conversations about the tweet and more conversations about the general landscape. I don't want [to be hired by] someone who's like, 'Let's get that motherfucker that burns it down!' I want the ones who are like, 'This dude's insightful, really pushes it, is accountable.'—Corey Smale I think in social media and marketing, there's a lot of conversation to be had about the way that you effectively, authentically communicate. I do know that PBR is good at it—before, during and after me. And social is a platform where you can really do a good job at that. So, I hope I can continue to do that. My fridge is still full of PBR. I love PBR. PBR saved my life. I'm so sad. I'm heartbroken. These are my friends, you know? But now I've got to do some new stuff, you know, lean into my other friends, other communities. I'm just going to try and be nice and kind. I hope that's the way I get introduced to a new thing. I don't want someone who's like, "Let's get that motherfucker that burns it down!" I want the ones who are like, "This dude's insightful, really pushes it, is accountable." https://twitter.com/itsalwaysloud/status/1480841860738334721?s=20 Do you think there's a lesson here to be learned, either for brand marketers who really want a distinctive voice in social media or for the social media managers who are on the front lines?There are probably multiple lessons to be learned. One is just, how far is too far to push it? Another is understanding the levels of accountability and responsibility in the hands of the social media manager or the community manager. Because that affects everybody—even someone in accounting who isn't on Twitter. You have to think about it like, they work for the company that you do too. You both get your check and your healthcare and your families are taken care of by the company. You want to do right by these people. You don't want to push too fucking hard, you know? Run it up and down. Get to know everybody in your damn business.—Corey Smale Maybe it's the thing that brings everyone together. That could be cool. You could have people in accounting being like, "I'm taking over the Twitter on Wednesdays." I want everyone to feel represented and everyone to feel like, "Yeah, I'm involved in this, and I back this." I really don't care what Twitter thinks. What I care about is that the people that work with me, that work hard and provide for their families on the same thing that I do, if it hurts them or makes things more difficult for them, including this fucking article, then I fucked up. And I apologize. And please quote that. The only thing I have to say about that is I was wrong about it, because I didn't do what I'm saying to do—and that's run it up, you know? Run it up and down. Get to know everybody in your damn business. Say, "I'm going to be talking wild about this brand. You down?'" Corey Smale can be found on LinkedIn and recently created a personal Twitter account. Pabst Blue Ribbon Deletes Tweets About 'Eating Ass,' Saying They Were 'in Poor Judgment'

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His Pabst Tweet Got Him Fired. But That's Not the Part He Regrets Most

After his 'eating ass' brand tweet blew up, Corey Smale saw how a joke can affect co-workers 'up and down' an organization

David Griner

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