Yesterday, we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, so obviously brands took to Twitter to try to sell us stuff. While some managed to tie into the holiday with a restrained, classy message, there were plenty that tweeted in poor taste, and a few that inspired no other reaction than a genuine “WTF?”
Here’s a roundup of the tweets. First the good:
AARP went one step further than a simple tweet, by creating an inspiring video .
As our nation honors #MLK, hear the iconic words recited by people from all walks of life. http://t.co/tlSHBYkm8d
— AARP (@AARP) January 20, 2014
Nordstrom played it safe, tweeting a simple message to honor the holiday, and including a shareable picture of a memorable quote. The lesson: It’s always brands that make it less about themselves that do well on on holidays on social media.
Happy MLK Day. pic.twitter.com/3CbHl87CQ8
— Nordstrom (@Nordstrom) January 20, 2014
Then there was the bad, which was basically brands superficially paying lip service to the holiday, while still promoting themselves in not-so-subtle ways that just didn’t fit right with the tone of remembrance.
Sleep-aid ZzzQuil attempted reference to an iconic speech.
Today is the day for dreaming.
Happy MLK Day.
— ZzzQuil (@ZzzQuil) January 20, 2014
Malt-O-Meal makes it all about breakfast:
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Get a good breakfast so you’re fueled to do something meaningful today!
— Malt-O-Meal (@MaltOMealCereal) January 20, 2014
This one from Eye Smart is slightly daft:
How will you celebrate #MLKDay? Whatever you choose to do, don’t forget to protect your eyes! http://t.co/S2MgWUazOj
— EyeSmart (@geteyesmart) January 20, 2014
And this one from DuPont is ridiculously self-serving:
Have you been to the MLK memorial in Washington, D.C.? DuPont contributed $1 million toward the project: http://t.co/dRkcKjZGaU #MLKday
— DuPont News (@DuPont_News) January 20, 2014
It get’s even worse. Here’s the ugly:
I don’t think American Airlines knows what “serve” means in the original quote.
‘Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve.’ Looking for an opportunity to serve? Join us: http://t.co/ITmsnF0m7S. #MLKDay
— American Airlines (@AmericanAir) January 20, 2014
Hats.com sent a tweet so unimaginative, it’s almost aggressive.
Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day with a hat from http://t.co/z03orMGdBh #MLKDay
— hats.com (@HatsdotCom) January 20, 2014
And the award for worst tweet, (possibly ever) goes to Pornhub, but then again, should we expect any less from a porn site?
Happy MLK. In honor of his death, make sure to only use the Ebony category today.
— Pornhub Katie (@Pornhub) January 20, 2014
