There’s a good reason companies are willing to spend big bucks on marketing and advertising: Wide-reaching campaigns on social media, radio, television and other channels can be a highly effective way to drum up a lot of attention for your company. But be warned — it may not always be the kind of attention you bargained for.
Despite their large marketing and social media teams, corporations will occasionally miss the mark in their ad campaigns, resulting in confusion at best and an offended, irate consumer base at worst. These marketing gaffes are even further amplified in an age of instant communication, viral social media posts and Internet archives, which means a company’s error can live on long after the tweet has been deleted or the TV spot has been pulled.