A pizza delivery company in the US was torn to shreds online yesterday after tweeting what it thought was a rather innocuous remark.
It all started out as a chance to join in with what was trending. And what was trending was: 'Why I Stayed'.
Unfortunately for the food giant – and especially for their social media employee – they should, perhaps, have done a little bit of reading before hopping on the bandwagon.
Dear #brands: Look before you tweet. https://t.co/6lyhwuvy5f pic.twitter.com/xyKi4qNhQJ #SocialMedia (h/t @AllisonRockey)
— Greg Greene (@ggreeneva) September 9, 2014
The hashtag was trending as women all across America were sharing stories why they had stayed with partners who had domestically abused them. The phrase came about as a response to the video posted by TMZ showing American footballer Ray Rice knocking out his finacée Janay Palmer in a lift.
After many complaints by advocacy groups, survivors of abuse, and anyone who can read, DiGiorno’s hastily deleted the tweet and made a very public apology today.
A million apologies. Did not read what the hashtag was about before posting.
— DiGiorno Pizza (@DiGiornoPizza) September 9, 2014
This isn’t the first time the company has dropped the ball in online marketing; in July, the pizzeria’s ‘Design your Pizza’ kit – an online gallery allowing users artistically place their own toppings – caught the attention of 4Chan, the site recently linked to the leaking of celebrity photos.
The resulting glut of penile pizza toppings and Nazi insignia became a race to the bottom, as galleries of puerile pies popped up online.
(Image: Imgur)
Time can only tell what blundering social media mistake DiGiorno’s will make next.
