Remember: Brands Can Turn Your Dumb Tweets Into Embarrassing Ads
Before you run your mouth on Twitter, think to yourself: would I be okay with some scared intern in digital marketing using my own words to sell their dumb product? That’s what happened to this young woman. Beware!
On May 13, 2015, @issa_pltnm aka “CHANCLA GOD” tweeted the following:
Shootouts to head and shoulders for keeping my hair clean hydrated and flake free
May 13, 2015
The crackerjack promo team who runs the Head & Shoulders Twitter account sprang into action:
Shout Outs back at you @issa_pltnm! We love your #LiveHeadFirst style—DM us and we’ll show you more love! pic.twitter.com/DgR9uXLglU
May 13, 2015
A few days ago, CHANCLA GOD (who says she goes by “Kettles”) told me via DM, Head & Shoulders decided to pay to promote the tweet, essentially turning her message into shampoo spam for an untold number of internet strangers, typo and all (it popped into my timeline this morning). Promoted tweets are a common tactic for online marketers, but seeing a brand appropriate an offhand remark by a civilian is rare—even Twitter’s own documentation of tweet promotion refers to the act as something done to one’s own tweets, not the tweets of others.
CHANCLA GOD tells me neither Head & Shoulders nor its parent company Proctor & Gamble asked her for permission before promoting her comment about her own dandruff, and that her timeline has become annoying “beyond belief”:
@issa_pltnm @Headshoulders How do I keep my timeline flake-free? #TwitterSpam
June 6, 2015
@McKenna914 @Headshoulders you fuck off mckenna91 I didn't pay for this
June 8, 2015
@issa_pltnm @Headshoulders I Put Hed&Shoulder on my Dikk Bitch PrettyNigga Swag on My Dick Suck My Minty Dick 1ThousanTrileon
June 10, 2015
@mountains07 like get the fuck out my mentions with your dog ass thx
June 9, 2015
@issa_pltnm @Headshoulders head and shoulders SUCKS!!!!!!!!!
June 10, 2015
@issa_pltnm @Headshoulders this fucking sucks
June 5, 2015
@Headshoulders @issa_pltnm they promoting the fact the u have dandruff
June 6, 2015
@issa_pltnm @Headshoulders hahaha why is this promoted :)
June 5, 2015
And so forth. The lesson is simple: our dumbest throwaway remarks are being constantly mined by advertising entities with the hope that they can be converted into “native” advertising that will increase the “authentic” “goodwill” of said brand and boost “awareness.” I asked Kettles if she’s planning on remaining a Head & Shoulders customer, and she told me “I already switched to tresseme before they promoted the tweet so.” So, good work everyone.
Alyssa Weiss, a Head & Shoulders spokesperson, denies CHANCLA GOD’s claim:
Thanks for reaching out! We do have written permission from this consumer to promote her tweet. Furthermore, Twitter nor P&G allow brands to promote consumer tweets without this written consent.
If you’d like to discuss further, please give me a call at the number below.
Best,
Alyssa
CHANCLA says that the company reached her via DM and said it might retweet her, but not promote her scalp comment on a running, daily basis, sans compensation.
Contact the author at biddle@gawker.com.
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