Why 'Thirsty' Brand Tweets About Dead Celebrities Won't Go Away
Companies may consider being part of the conversation more important than good taste.
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A far cry from the whiskey sipping, chain smoking Mad Men of eras past, modern marketing teams split their time between crafting content that won't offend and apologizing when, inevitably, someone is offended. Tasked with the Herculean notion that everyone on the Web must interact with, "like," and ultimately purchase a product, they spend their days poring over social media mulling how their brands can be part of the conversation.
Increasingly, marketers view every trending topic and cultural event as an opportunity to get involved. That's how Clorox Co. ended up sending an ill-advised tweet about the release of new emojis and General Mills Inc. found itself apologizing for trying to memorialize Prince postmortem, via its Cheerios brand.