Social Media Fails: Mistakes Brands Must Avoid

Fail case studies (with lessons and correctives)

Social media platforms provide great opportunities for customer engagement, but sometimes, brands get attention for the wrong reasons. Whether it takes the form of accusations of sexism, economic bias or racism, businesses can face severe backlash for social media campaigns gone awry. Here’s a look at some epic brand fails on social media that tarnished the reputations of well-known companies and sent their cleanup crews (aka PR teams) into high gear.

Viral tone-deaf campaigns

1. Burger King UK tweeted, “Women belong in the kitchen.”

Attempting to capitalize on special holidays can become more of a detriment to your business than an asset if handled poorly. For example, Burger King UK apparently felt confident when it highlighted International Women’s Day on its social media content calendar in 2021. Unfortunately, the team responsible for a clickbait tweet hid the brand’s good intentions in the fine print.

The company wanted the statement “Women belong in the kitchen” in their X post to raise awareness of the lack of gender diversity in the restaurant industry. In fact, Burger King UK was promoting a new scholarship program for female employees to pursue a culinary career despite the dominance of male chefs. However, none of those good intentions stood out because they were hidden in subsequent messages. 

All people could focus on was the initial post stating, “Women belong in the kitchen.” It was a cheeky but highly insensitive message. Its virality was largely because it was posted on International Women’s Day — a time to champion women, not harken back to outdated stereotypes. Amid swift backlash from Twitter users, Burger King posted an apology and deleted the initial tweet. 

>> Find out more about this incident in our look at infamous PR mistakes.

Key lesson: Lead with context and avoid controversial phrasing, even when attempting to make a positive statement. Clickbait tactics can backfire spectacularly when they trigger negative reactions before audiences understand the full message.

Corrective actions:

• Frame announcements positively from the start.
• Include full context in the initial post rather than creating a thread where important information might be missed.
• Test controversial messaging with diverse team members before posting to identify potential misinterpretations.

2. Gap divided audiences with its unity call.

The 2020 presidential election stoked intense feelings on both sides of the political aisle, but the day after Election Day, Gap was ready to put all the divisiveness behind them. The retailer posted a video on Twitter of a Gap-branded sweatshirt being zipped up. The catch? Half the sweatshirt was blue and half of it was red to symbolize Democrats and Republicans coming together as one.

The post declared, “The one thing we know, is that together, we can move forward,” with a blue heart and red heart. But after months of political vitriol that seeped into virtually every corner of U.S. society, many people that morning were far from ready to “move forward.” And they didn’t hesitate to reply saying so. The brand was called out for bothsidesism (or false balance) and tone deafness, with pointed user comments saying, “Read the room.”

Gap, which ultimately deleted its post, admitted in a statement that the sweatshirt wasn’t actually for sale and was created only for social media. If the company was aiming to get attention with a fake product on a busy news day, mission accomplished. It just wasn’t positive attention.

Key lesson: Timing is crucial when addressing divisive topics. Attempting to promote unity immediately after polarizing events can appear tone-deaf and dismissive of legitimate concerns.

Corrective actions:

• Allow adequate time after contentious events before posting unity-themed content.
  
  • Focus on brand values rather than attempting to address political divisions directly.
• Avoid creating fake products solely for social media engagement, as this can appear inauthentic.

3. Apple appeared to crush creativity.

Apple has long been a darling of creatives of every stripe. The tech giant has consistently positioned itself as the choice for mold breakers and visionaries, most famously with its “Think Different” campaign. So it’s no surprise that its 2024 iPad Pro video ad caused a stir on social media. Unfortunately, though, the conversation was criticizing, not celebrating, the brand and its new product.

The video shows a hydraulic press crushing a collection of creative tools, like musical instruments and buckets of paint. When the press lifts, it turns out that everything has been compressed into the new iPad Pro. Apple’s intended message was that its iPad can do it all, but the spectacular footage of beloved creative objects being smashed to smithereens sent a different message entirely.

Apple faced an immediate backlash on social media, with many users not only saying that the ad was offensive to creatives and their craft but also that the concept was soulless and an affront to what makes us human. In an era when many people are worried about AI technology taking over jobs and replacing human elements like creativity, the ad seemed especially tone-deaf. “We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry,” Apple said in response to the negative reactions.

Key lesson: Visual metaphors must align with current cultural sentiments and brand values. Destructive imagery can overshadow positive messaging, especially when it contradicts the target audience’s values.

Corrective actions:

• Test creative concepts with target audience focus groups before production.
• Consider current cultural anxieties (like AI replacing human creativity) when developing campaign concepts.
• Use additive rather than destructive visual metaphors to demonstrate product capabilities.

Messaging vs. audience mismatch

4. Robinhood missed with its Super Bowl ad.

After spending more than $5 million on a Super Bowl ad in 2021, Robinhood posted its high-dollar commercial to its followers on X. Unfortunately, the timing couldn’t have been worse. The video stated that the world of finance was changing and that the company saw everyone, regardless of circumstances, as part of its targeted audience. “We are all investors” would have been a heartfelt relationship-builder — if the business wasn’t already under fire for limiting trading for average investors.

Robinhood limited trading for AMC and GameStop after a group of Reddit investors known as Wall Street Bets sparked interest in the stocks. Fending off a battle between retail traders and certain hedge funds shorting stocks, Robinhood gave the excuse that they didn’t have enough cash to support so much trading.

Customers were unsatisfied with the excuse. After the Super Bowl ad not only aired but was also posted on the company’s social media page, they guessed where the cash flow had been funneled. Twitter exploded after the post as people responded with missives like “Criminals,” “Robinhood hates the average investor” and “Lies.”

Key lesson: Marketing messages must align with current company actions and public perception. Contradictory messaging during a crisis amplifies negative sentiment.

Corrective actions:

• Delay major marketing campaigns during active PR crises.
• Ensure all messaging acknowledges current customer concerns.
• Coordinate marketing and PR teams to maintain consistent communication during difficult periods.

5. Bioré missed the mark on mental health.

Most brands want to be seen as caring about their customers and the issues important to them, but entering every conversation isn’t always a good idea. Skincare company Bioré learned that in 2023. The beauty brand partnered with an influencer to promote Bioré’s pore strips during Mental Health Awareness Month. But the influencer’s video claiming to want to “strip away the stigma of anxiety” went viral for all the wrong reasons.

The influencer attended a college that was recently the site of a school shooting. She intended to spread awareness of mental health issues while discussing the anxiety she had suffered after the tragedy. But pairing trauma with a TikTok ad for pore strips didn’t sit right with the public, who called out both the influencer and Bioré for using a school shooting to sell skincare products.

Bioré’s social media effort got a ton of attention, but not the kind it had hoped for. Instead of positioning itself as a company that genuinely cares about mental health, it came off as a business willing to trivialize serious issues in the name of sales. In the end, Bioré and the influencer had to release public apologies.

Key lesson: Serious social issues should not be directly tied to product promotion, especially when involving trauma or tragedy. Authentic social awareness campaigns must prioritize the cause over commercial interests.

Corrective actions:

• Separate social cause awareness from direct product promotion.
• Thoroughly vet influencer content and personal circumstances before campaign approval.
• Establish clear guidelines about sensitive topics that should not be commercialized.

PR fails that escalated

6. Chase blamed customers for poor finances.

Businesses can smartly take advantage of social media trends by using relevant hashtags in their posts. But those efforts can backfire if the message accompanying the hashtag doesn’t translate the way you hoped. Case in point: In 2019, Chase seemingly sought to inspire on Twitter with a “#MondayMotivation” post.

The text featured a fictional exchange between a person and their bank account, with the individual wondering why their balance is “so low” when they spent money on eating out and taking cabs. Social media users interpreted the post as the financial institution blaming and shaming its customers for having low incomes. Meanwhile, banks like Chase have long been accused of predatory behavior that helps the rich get richer while leaving the poor to continue to struggle.

The post also demonstrated a disregard for economic factors beyond customers’ control, which Senator Elizabeth Warren pointed out in a reply that sarcastically mimicked the format of Chase’s original post. The bank got the message and posted in a new tweet, “Our #MondayMotivation is to get better at #MondayMotivation tweets. Thanks for the feedback Twitter world.” Despite the apparent apology, Warren drew even more attention to the issue days later by writing a CNN op-ed calling out the company, ensuring the PR crisis wouldn’t blow over quickly.

Key lesson: Financial institutions must be especially sensitive to economic inequality and avoid social media content that could be perceived as blaming customers for financial struggles.

Corrective actions:

• Focus motivational content on actionable financial tips rather than lifestyle critique.
• Acknowledge economic challenges beyond individual control in financial messaging.
• Review content through the lens of brand reputation and potential public policy criticism.

7. Netflix’s “Cuties” trailer wasn’t cute.

When a streaming service acquires a new movie, it’s standard practice for the company to create an intriguing trailer for the film and blast it out on social media. Well, Netflix got more than it bargained for in 2020 when it posted its preview for Cuties. The film had already been screened at the Sundance Film Festival and released in France. However, the new trailer depicted a movie far more scandalous than the coming-of-age tale the film actually shows.

Countless people replied to the streamer’s Twitter post with their horrified reactions to the trailer’s apparent sexualization of young girls, an impression that only became stronger when Netflix’s poster for the film — showing the 11-year-old characters scantily clad in suggestive poses — went viral. “#CancelNetflix” trended on social media, petitions called for the film to be removed from the platform, and the director of the project, who had no say in Netflix’s marketing, revealed she received death threats due to the controversy.

Some politicians even tried to take legal action against the company. The firestorm lasted for weeks, overshadowing critical acclaim for the movie (which currently holds an 88 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and distorting the important message the film was actually trying to convey. Netflix ended up swapping out its “inappropriate artwork,” acknowledging in a statement that it was “not OK, nor was it representative” of Cuties. Still, the post with the controversial trailer remains available on X.

Key lesson: Marketing materials must accurately represent content, and you must consider how imagery will be interpreted by diverse audiences, especially when involving minors.

Corrective actions:

• Review all visual marketing materials for potential misinterpretation.
• Ensure marketing teams understand the actual content and message of promoted material.
• Establish special protocols for content involving children or sensitive subjects.

8. Chick-fil-A shut down an employee advocate.

A Chick-fil-A employee went viral on TikTok in 2024 after sharing her enthusiastic reviews of different menu items available at the popular fast food chain. The team member’s videos gained her thousands of followers, drew millions of views and drove many people to try Chick-fil-A’s food.

In spite of that, Chick-fil-A told the budding TikTok star she had to stop making videos because its policy forbids employees from creating content about the company. Instead of partnering with the team member on a social media campaign that could have increased brand awareness and earned good PR, Chick-fil-A stuck rigidly to its policy. The company tried to shut the worker and her videos down.

The restaurant’s competitor, Shake Shack, saw the missed opportunity and quickly got in touch with the TikToker, partnering with her on videos featuring Shake Shack’s food items. Her new Shake Shack clips became a viral hit, sending her thousands of followers through the doors of their local Shake Shack, much to the chagrin of her former employers. If only Chick-fil-A realized it had a great marketing partner on staff before it was too late.

Key lesson: Rigid policy enforcement can create missed opportunities and competitive disadvantages. Authentic employee advocacy often provides more valuable marketing than traditional campaigns.

Corrective actions:

• Develop flexible social media policies that can accommodate positive employee content.
• Create pathways for team members to become official brand ambassadors.
• Monitor employee-generated content to identify marketing opportunities before competitors do.

What can be learned from these social media mistakes

These social media failures reveal several critical patterns that businesses must understand to protect their brand reputation:

Context matters more than intent. Multiple cases show that good intentions mean nothing if the initial message lacks proper context or can be easily misinterpreted. Burger King UK’s scholarship announcement and Apple’s creativity message both suffered because the framing overshadowed the intended meaning.

Timing sensitivity is crucial. Gap’s unity message and Robinhood’s investor-focused ad demonstrate how current events and existing controversies can transform routine marketing into public relations disasters. Brands must consider the broader social and political climate before posting.

Authenticity cannot be faked. When companies attempt to address serious social issues purely for marketing purposes, audiences quickly detect the insincerity. Bioré’s mental health campaign and Netflix’s provocative marketing both backfired because they prioritized attention over authentic engagement with important topics.

Employee advocacy requires strategy, not suppression. Chick-fil-A’s rigid policy enforcement shows how companies can miss valuable organic marketing opportunities. Meanwhile, employee-generated content often feels more authentic to consumers than traditional advertising.

Visual messaging needs careful consideration. Apple’s crushing imagery and Netflix’s poster choices prove that visuals can communicate messages that contradict intended meanings. In an era of quick social media consumption, first impressions from images often matter more than explanatory text.

Crisis response timing affects outcome severity. Companies that respond quickly with genuine acknowledgment and corrective action tend to recover faster than those that delay or offer defensive responses. However, the severity of the initial mistake still determines the long-term reputation impact, especially since the error can live on forever on the internet.

Best practices to avoid brand fails on social media

Following social media marketing best practices can help you prevent fails like the ones above. These tips, backed by experts in the field, can keep your content on point so you avoid social media infamy and unnecessary bad press.

1. Find your audience.

Just like with email marketing campaigns, you can’t succeed with a social media campaign if you don’t know who to target. Before planning your social strategy, you’ll need to identify your target audience. That means going beyond general data and getting to the core of who your customers are, what issues they face, where they spend their time online and what content they crave. Uncovering these answers will help inform what content you should create and where to post it.

Developing customer personas can help with this task, but remember, real people are behind the profiles. If you view your social media efforts as opportunities to build online communities with the people who matter most, you can win ambassadors for your brand. Understand that those brand ambassadors are also sharing and creating content. To make sure your campaigns go viral for the right reasons, you must also consider your audience’s audience.

“Most brands win by getting people talking about them,” said Tom Miner, the former head of global social media at Crocs and current managing partner and social media strategist at Gold Miner Media. “As consumers have grown increasingly weary of brands speaking at them, creating content for your audience’s audience carries several important benefits: It makes you slow down to think about your audience’s core desires (what they most want to see in your content), it lets you engineer content that helps itself get copied and shared, and it appeases modern algorithms.”

2. Choose the right social media networks.

It’s wise to secure a username for your company on every social media network to prevent confusion later. But while your business should have multiple social media accounts, it’s best to focus your efforts on a few networks that make the most sense for your brand.

Consider the platforms where your audience spends the most time. If your customers aren’t inclined to scroll through Facebook, creating Facebook posts would be a waste of energy. However, part of choosing the right social media sites to use includes understanding what makes each one unique and how to use it best. Different social networks require different strategies and tailored content.

“Every social platform has distinct cultures, users, behaviors and content formats,” said Miner. “Brands can no longer afford to take a one-size-fits-all approach to social. It comes across as tone-deaf when content is not contextualized to the specific platform it appears on. This increases the chances of something getting ‘lost in translation’ between a brand and consumers.”

3. Be consistent.

Your business likely already has a brand image with a clear identity that makes your mission obvious to your audience. This aesthetic and tone should carry over onto social media. Inconsistency will only confuse and lead social media users to see your business as inauthentic.

“One commonly overlooked but incredibly important asset that can help avoid a brand failure is having clear social media guidelines for tone and messaging,” said Kevin Gonsalves, director of strategy at ICUC, a global social media and online community management agency. “Guidelines can align the team on a unified voice and help prevent misinterpretations and tone-deaf posts.”

You want to connect with your customers emotionally, so your guidelines should include using hashtags that resonate (and won’t offend) and only sharing reputable sources of information. Your company may already have built up trust in the marketplace, but you have to earn it again on social media by posting relevant, engaging content that aligns with your brand.

>> Check out these strategies for engaging your audience on social media.

4. Create a content calendar.

While business owners and their marketing teams always have competing priorities, social media can’t be a last-minute afterthought if you want it to help your brand. Using a content calendar to plan your posts in advance and a social media management program to schedule those posts can simplify maintaining an active social media presence.

“You set the expectation for your audience,” said Lexi Floyd-Nye, social media director at Aqua Marketing & Communications. “Make sure you ‘show up’ for them consistently by publishing a consistent stream of content.”

Maintaining a content calendar also keeps team-wide awareness of what’s being posted and when. For example, this can prevent you from inadvertently posting something inappropriate on a holiday, which would definitely be a brand failure.

Social media management tools can also help you figure out the best paid-versus-organic social media strategy and measure the results of your efforts.

5. Use social listening.

Creating strong content is essential, but you can’t do it in a vacuum. For your social media marketing campaigns to be successful — and to avoid blunders like the ones above — you need to monitor mentions of your brand and track social media trends by looking at competitor feeds, relevant keywords and trending hashtags.

Using social listening tools to analyze posts from other accounts (both rivals and consumers) can help you build your social calendar, determine trends and deepen your relationship with customers by providing more of the kind of content they want to see. You should also reply to mentions, answer questions and provide encouraging comments as much as possible.

“If you’re not plugged into the daily vibes, conversations and emotional state of the internet, you’re increasing the chances of creating mishaps,” said Miner.

6. Know when to stay on the sidelines.

Maintaining an active presence on social media doesn’t mean you need to comment on every single trend or current event. Avoid posting about controversial topics, especially ones that have nothing to do with your brand. Even messages that seem innocuous can cause severe damage if people perceive your efforts as inauthentic or intrusive.

“When in doubt, sit it out,” recommended Miner. “If your brand is about to say or do something that feels like it’s going to blow up in its face, listen to that intuition. The risk-reward balance is out of whack, and you’ll be better served by being thoughtful than rushing into something.”

This also applies to active social media campaigns. The world moves fast, and what might seem appropriate or relevant one day can quickly be seen as problematic the next. When that happens, take action to avoid becoming a negative part of the conversation.

“(That) might include pausing posts if a related topic becomes controversial or revisiting scheduled content if it no longer aligns with current events,” said Gonsalves.

7. Encourage engagement.

An appealing brand on social media is one that interacts with its followers instead of posting in a silo. Regularly ask your customers to comment on what they do and don’t like, what pain points they’re facing and how your company can improve. You might develop a new product, collect essential data or enhance your business processes by soliciting this feedback.

Stay on top of interactions via social media management tools and let your customers know their voices are being heard. Remember, you’re trying to create conversations, and that requires a back-and-forth.

“This is where community management comes in,” said Floyd-Nye. “Respond to comments and messages promptly and interact with your audience regularly and consistently.”

You can also foster engagement by asking your followers for content requests or even encouraging them to create their own content using your brand’s likeness and products. User-generated content (UGC) is a great way to get positive, free publicity for your company. Just be sure to vet the identities of those who send in submissions to avoid posting something that can damage your brand’s reputation.

8. Have a crisis plan.

Inevitably, something will go wrong at some point. How your business responds on social media can make all the difference.

“Brands need to have a plan in place for handling crises,” said Stefanie Magness, founder and senior strategist at Elevate Visibility Group. “Social media was rocked when a customer was forcibly removed from an overbooked flight by United Airlines. Their poor communication and slow response, which intensified the negative reaction, made it a textbook example of how not to handle a crisis.”

Preparing for when things go wrong is essential. A written plan to manage a crisis situation will allow your team to respond quickly and effectively so things don’t spiral out of control online. An essential part of that strategy is being upfront about mistakes and apologizing.

“When a post causes a backlash, be transparent about your mistake,” Gonsalves advised. “A simple ‘We messed up, and we’re sorry’ message goes a long way. Making your apology direct and acknowledging specific mistakes is important to rebuilding trust with your followers.”

You can skyrocket to online success and boost your business using the right social networks, publishing tools and creative content, as long as you make sure all your efforts are designed to strengthen your company’s reputation and don’t risk damaging your brand. Companies like Burger King, Chase, Netflix, Chick-fil-A and Bioré all learned this the hard way. Don’t make the same mistakes.

Social media mistake-proofing checklist

Before posting any social media content for your business, use this comprehensive checklist to identify potential issues and reduce the risk of brand fails.

Pre-publishing content review

Message and context

☐ Does the post clearly communicate its intended message without requiring additional context?

☐ Could the headline or opening statement be misinterpreted when viewed in isolation?

☐ Is the timing appropriate given current events, holidays or ongoing controversies?

☐ Does the content align with your brand values and established voice?

Audience considerations

☐ Will this message resonate positively with your target audience?

☐ Have you considered how different demographic groups might interpret this content?

☐ Could this post alienate any significant portion of your customer base?

☐ Does the content respect cultural sensitivities and avoid stereotypes?

Visual and technical elements

☐ Do images, videos or graphics support the intended message without contradiction?

☐ Are all links functional and directing to appropriate destinations?

☐ Has all text been proofread for spelling, grammar and factual accuracy?

☐ Are hashtags relevant, researched and appropriate for your brand?

Team validation process

☐ Has the content been reviewed by multiple team members from different perspectives?

☐ Have you consulted with legal or PR teams for potentially sensitive content?

☐ Is there a designated approval process for posts addressing current events or social issues?

☐ Do you have crisis response protocols ready if the post generates negative feedback?

Red flag indicators

Immediate warning signs

• Content that addresses tragedy, trauma or sensitive social issues for marketing purposes
• Messages that could be perceived as blame, judgment or insensitivity toward specific groups
• Posts that take strong political stances unrelated to your business
• Content created solely to generate controversy or shock value
• Marketing materials that contradict recent company actions or policies
  

Contextual risks

• Posting about your company during active PR crises or negative news cycles
• Using trending hashtags without understanding their full context or origin
• Attempting to capitalize on serious news events or tragedies
• Creating fake products or scenarios purely for social media engagement
• Ignoring established company policies to chase viral moments

 Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.