Brands take to social media on September 11

September 11 is a difficult time for Americans and a controversial day for brands.

This is the time of year that brands take to social media sites such as Twitter to show their respect for the tragedy that occurred 14 years ago when terrorists attacked the United States. These brands mean well when they tweet on this day, but some brands take their tweets too far and end up with a disaster.

I used the hashtag “brandfails” to track brands that failed in their attempt at a proper 9/11 tweet.

CVS Pharmacy posted a photo to Twitter of the Manhattan skyline with two lights where the Twin Towers would be standing. In the corner of the photo there is a CVS logo. The company failed to show respect toward 9/11 and instead chose to promote their brand, which offended numerous people.

In the South, a tie company out of Birmingham, Ala., posted a tweet many thought was insensitive.

“Let’s get 2,296 retweets for the 2,296 people who lost their lives 14 years ago today.” The tweet was quickly deleted but not before people took a screenshot of the tweet.

The app Timehop started out meaning well with their tribute. A picture showed a dinosaur looking across the horizon to where two bright lights are in place of the fallen towers. Once the reader keeps scrolling however, there is another picture of a dinosaur at the bottom saying, “Memba dis?” As in saying, “Memba when the towers fell?”

Many more “brand fails” surfaced as the day went on, those are just a few of my personal favorites. Not every brand missed the mark though. There were also some respectful tweets that companies put on their social media.

White Castle posted a photo of the Twin Towers with an American flag wrapped around the towers with the words, “We Remember.” No food in the picture or a White Castle slogan or brand. Tweeting about 9/11 under your Twitter name is self-promotion enough and White Castle did just that.

Dunkin Donuts had the same concept as White Castle. Instead of posting their logo or a picture of donuts, they tweeted out a picture of American flags with the words, “Today we honor the memory of those who lost their lives on September 11.”

My advice to all brands out there – take September 11 as a day off from tweeting. That is not the day to appear altruistic and it certainly is not a marketing opportunity. If you are not sure if a tweet is appropriate, just skip it. Better to be safe than sorry.