Goof-ups are common in the marketing world but every once in a while we come across a blooper that has a devastating impact on the brand’s reputation. These bloopers are not only known for providing reputational setbacks to the business but also create a lot of chaos among fans who are not afraid to voice their opinions online. These kinds of online attacks can seriously drain your promotional budget and also cast your business values in a bad light.
While the intentions behind these promotional campaigns were right, they still suffered rage from people due to their misplaced strategies, ill-advised imagery, or poor campaign strategies. Below we have listed the top 3 marketing bloopers that every digital marketer can learn from:
1. Burger King’s whopping marketing flop
Burger King was a part of a big controversy some time ago because of a marketing blooper. As a part of their marketing strategy, Burger King sent out a tweet with a hook along the lines of “women belong in the kitchen”. Now, naturally, that tweet sparked outrage across the internet and it was regarded as a controversial slogan that became a tagline for sexism.
Also, the timing couldn’t be any worse because Burger King sent the tweet out on International Women’s Day, a day where the whole world celebrates women and their role in our society.
Right after receiving the outrageous public response to their tweet, Burger King was quick to apologize for their mess-up and tried to explain the tweet from their point of view. In their apology, Burger King sent out another tweet that said, “We hear you. We got our initial tweet wrong and we are sorry. Our aim was to draw attention to the fact that only 20% of professional chefs in UK kitchens are women and to help change that by awarding culinary scholarships. We will do better next time.”
Interestingly enough, their marketing blooper earned them 527% higher engagement than the announcement of the brand’s scholarship program.
The lesson:
The message of Burger King was certainly very thoughtful but sometimes it’s just the way you are presenting the information that can change its whole outlook. This marketing blooper by Burger King taught is the perfect lesson that sometimes too much creativity can also prove to be harmful to your brand.
Takeaways:
While developing your marketing campaign, it is important to take care of certain things such as:
- Get feedback from multiple people before approving the content
- Avoid overly controversial ad-campaigns
- Try to share your ideas with the relevant audiences inside your organization
- Choose your words very carefully
- Use your brand and platform to empower your audience instead of hiding thoughtful messages in controversial copies.
Goof-ups are common in the marketing world but every once in a while we come across a blooper that has a devastating impact on the brand’s reputation. These bloopers are not only known for providing reputational setbacks to the business but also create a lot of chaos among fans who are not afraid to voice their opinions online. These kinds of online attacks can seriously drain your promotional budget and also cast your business values in a bad light.
While the intentions behind these promotional campaigns were right, they still suffered rage from people due to their misplaced strategies, ill-advised imagery, or poor campaign strategies. Below we have listed the top 3 marketing bloopers that every digital marketer can learn from:
1. Burger King’s whopping marketing flop
Burger King was a part of a big controversy some time ago because of a marketing blooper. As a part of their marketing strategy, Burger King sent out a tweet with a hook along the lines of “women belong in the kitchen”. Now, naturally, that tweet sparked outrage across the internet and it was regarded as a controversial slogan that became a tagline for sexism.
Also, the timing couldn’t be any worse because Burger King sent the tweet out on International Women’s Day, a day where the whole world celebrates women and their role in our society.
Right after receiving the outrageous public response to their tweet, Burger King was quick to apologize for their mess-up and tried to explain the tweet from their point of view. In their apology, Burger King sent out another tweet that said, “We hear you. We got our initial tweet wrong and we are sorry. Our aim was to draw attention to the fact that only 20% of professional chefs in UK kitchens are women and to help change that by awarding culinary scholarships. We will do better next time.”
Interestingly enough, their marketing blooper earned them 527% higher engagement than the announcement of the brand’s scholarship program.
The lesson:
The message of Burger King was certainly very thoughtful but sometimes it’s just the way you are presenting the information that can change its whole outlook. This marketing blooper by Burger King taught is the perfect lesson that sometimes too much creativity can also prove to be harmful to your brand.
Takeaways:
While developing your marketing campaign, it is important to take care of certain things such as:
- Get feedback from multiple people before approving the content
- Avoid overly controversial ad-campaigns
- Try to share your ideas with the relevant audiences inside your organization
- Choose your words very carefully
- Use your brand and platform to empower your audience instead of hiding thoughtful messages in controversial copies.
2. Timothy’s World Coffee’ Prize Promise Mishap
Timothy’s World Coffee’s marketing blunder is also infamous in the world of social media and needless to say the recognized brand is still paying for its blooper and trying to redeem itself.
In order to increase its social media reach and promote the coffee, the brand offered to give a coupon or a free sample for coffee on social media as a part of its loyalty-boosting tactic.
They also offered a genuine second apology and promised to send their disappointed customers a free coupon in the post, however, the damage was already done.
The lesson:
Do not underestimate the response of your customers especially if you are offering a coupon or a freebie. Also, if your offer is on a first come first serve basis then one should mention so in their marketing post itself. Disappointing your customers can prove to be really deadly for your brand.
3. Snickers Advertising campaign fail
Snickers Spain also found itself in reputational hot water when it released a misguided video ad using the brand’s staple tagline, which reads, “you are not yourself when you are hungry”. This tagline is been used for a long time by Snickers, which to be fair is pretty clever. However, the way it was depicted in the ad video sparked outrage among fans.
In the ad, influencer Aless Gibaja transforms into a manly man when he is hungry and then after eating snickers, he transforms into his true self. This narrative was perceived to be homophobic and earned the brand top-level negative publicity.
In fact Spain’s quality minister, Irene Montero said on the issue, “Our society is diverse and tolerant. Hopefully, those who have the power to make decisions about what we see and hear in commercials and TV shows will learn to be too.”
The lesson:
It is always best to steer clear of controversial ideas no matter how creative because they can prove to be scandalous for your brand. The idea and intention behind the ad remain in the background so what you are depicting will be perceived as it is.
The Toronto-based Edkent Media is a full-service Digital marketing company that provides SEO, PPC, web design, content marketing, and email marketing. The firm prides itself on hiring the best marketing minds in the industry and provides high-quality results. The company’s proven methods of online marketing are effective in growing companies worldwide. Learn about their services and how they can help you reach your goals. The following are just a few of the benefits of working with Edkent Media.
2. Timothy’s World Coffee’ Prize Promise Mishap
Timothy’s World Coffee’s marketing blunder is also infamous in the world of social media and needless to say the recognized brand is still paying for its blooper and trying to redeem itself.
In order to increase its social media reach and promote the coffee, the brand offered to give a coupon or a free sample for coffee on social media as a part of its loyalty-boosting tactic.
They also offered a genuine second apology and promised to send their disappointed customers a free coupon in the post, however, the damage was already done.
The lesson:
Do not underestimate the response of your customers especially if you are offering a coupon or a freebie. Also, if your offer is on a first come first serve basis then one should mention so in their marketing post itself. Disappointing your customers can prove to be really deadly for your brand.
3. Snickers Advertising campaign fail
Snickers Spain also found itself in reputational hot water when it released a misguided video ad using the brand’s staple tagline, which reads, “you are not yourself when you are hungry”. This tagline is been used for a long time by Snickers, which to be fair is pretty clever. However, the way it was depicted in the ad video sparked outrage among fans.
In the ad, influencer Aless Gibaja transforms into a manly man when he is hungry and then after eating snickers, he transforms into his true self. This narrative was perceived to be homophobic and earned the brand top-level negative publicity.
In fact Spain’s quality minister, Irene Montero said on the issue, “Our society is diverse and tolerant. Hopefully, those who have the power to make decisions about what we see and hear in commercials and TV shows will learn to be too.”
The lesson:
It is always best to steer clear of controversial ideas no matter how creative because they can prove to be scandalous for your brand. The idea and intention behind the ad remain in the background so what you are depicting will be perceived as it is.
The Toronto-based Edkent Media is a full-service Digital marketing company that provides SEO, PPC, web design, content marketing, and email marketing. The firm prides itself on hiring the best marketing minds in the industry and provides high-quality results. The company’s proven methods of online marketing are effective in growing companies worldwide. Learn about their services and how they can help you reach your goals. The following are just a few of the benefits of working with Edkent Media.
