United's PR disaster lands in Twitter's unfriendly skies
That tone-deaf Pepsi ad? Nivea's "white is purity" ad? The airline's own leggings controversy? Hold my beer, says United.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
The horrifying video making the rounds Monday showing a passenger being forcibly dragged off a United Airlines flight hit home with just about anyone who's ever flown. Audra D. Bridges, who posted the video on Facebook, says the man was kicked off so the airline could make room for crew members. As of Monday morning, the video had more than 2 million views.
The video seemed to be just one more in the line of recent inexplicable corporate decisions, including Pepsi's tone-deaf protest ad and Nivea's "white is purity" ad. It also comes right on the heels of another United blunder, which involved the airline's refusal to let two teen girls using an employee pass board a flight because they were wearing leggings.
When Twitter users are falling all over each other to create a variation on the "hold my beer" theme, you know your company's in trouble.
But maybe you feel that the "hold my beer" meme is a little, say, poured out? Never fear, social media mavens are just getting started.
Let's just say if you know anyone on United's public relations or social media teams, you should buy them a drink. Or 10.
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