If you are unaware of the
civil war and conflict that is happening in Syria right now, I have to assume
you have been living under a rock. I've seen numerous tweets about the tragic
situation on Twitter lately, but I cringed when I saw what American fashion
designer Kenneth Cole tweeted earlier this week.
Did Kenneth Cole really think Twitter users would enjoy this
comment or was he just after the shock value? Maybe he just didn't care. Maybe he just wanted to get people talking
about his brand – good or bad.
However, poking fun at political issues and tragedies to promote
your own product is unacceptable PR in my book. I found his tweet to be
extremely insensitive and after viewing the hashtag #KennethColeTweets I found
that many other Twitter users felt the same way I did. People on Twitter used
the hashtag to tweet fake insensitive sales pitches that blasted Kenneth Cole’s
brand.
In PR we understand how critical it is to pause and consider how
every word you post on social media could be received by target publics. I
think Cole missed this piece of advice. To me, the saddest part is, this wasn't the first time he made an insensitive political tweet to sell his brand. In
2011, amid times of unrest and revolution in Egypt, the designer's brand tweeted:
You would expect Cole to learn from the backlash that followed the
Cairo tweet, but the recent tweet implying the Syrian situation tells
otherwise. Even after apology tweets and an explanation video on Instagram, the
damage has been done for me personally. I have never shopped Kenneth Cole, but
after his tactless posts on social media, I’m going to be sure I never do!
How do you feel about Kenneth Cole's tweets? Will they draw favorable attention or kill the Kenneth Cole brand?
How do you feel about Kenneth Cole's tweets? Will they draw favorable attention or kill the Kenneth Cole brand?
I wish I could say I'm shocked that someone could be so insensitive to what is happening in the world. However, I'm not. On many occasions celebrities, name brand companies, ect. are only focused on one thing: Themselves. They make that very clear via social media.
ReplyDeleteI believe those who pay attention to the news and what is happening in the world will take offense to Kenneth Cole's tweets. But then again, you'll have those who are living under a rock and don't care about anything but..you guessed it...themselves.
Katee,
DeleteI also saw this tweet from @KennethCole, but I didn't realize that so much of the Twittersphere had taken notice. In a way, it's nice that Twitter users drew attention to the issue sarcastic comedic tweets. Other users who might not be as informed probably took notice of the #KennethColeTweets tweets and might have done a little more research on the hashtag.
I agree that it is never acceptable to capitalize on such a serious issue for the sake of promoting your brand. The fact that Kenneth Cole was previously in hot water over Cairo tweets makes this entire situation even more unbelievable.