As an intern at an internationally-read publication, it has become one of my biggest fears that something I intend for my personal social media accounts is accidentally posted from our mag’s professional accounts. I’ve come close but luckily managed to sidestep any major PR fail, thus far.
Not so lucky for whoever is manning US retailer J.C. Penney’s Twitter account today, in line with the Superbowl. Even though their pre-game tweet seemed 100% characteristic of the brand’s voice – professional, grammatically correct, sober – the last two tweets, which apparently started two minutes after the initial one, definitely indicate that someone has had a few two many…or forgot to log out of their employer’s social media account.
We’re ready for the big game no matter the temp. Staying warm thanks to #TeamUSA mittens! http://t.co/xzB8FLljox pic.twitter.com/pqocEbkC9K
— JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 2, 2014
Who kkmew theis was ghiong tob e a baweball ghamle. #lowsscorinh 5_0 — JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 2, 2014
Toughdown Seadawks!! Is sSeattle going toa runaway wit h this??? — JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 3, 2014
Obviously, with in excess of 285k followers, someone was bound to be tipped off sooner or later and they’ve managed to put together an apology tweet pretty shortly after the mishap. Nice save, JCP.
Oops…Sorry for the typos. We were #TweetingWithMittens. Wasn’t it supposed to be colder? Enjoy the game! #GoTeamUSA pic.twitter.com/e8GvnTiEGl — JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 3, 2014
Although, if we can put our cynical hats on for a minute, this could also be much more calculated than those blatantly terrible tweets make them out to be. With the mid-range retailer miraculously attracting a legion of new Twitter followers since the event and #TweetingWithMittens now trending, you’ve gotta admit this little ‘blunder’ has really paid off for them. I guess it’s a lot cheaper than actually paying for one of those spots during half-time. We see you J.C. Penney – and if we’re wrong, then good luck with the job search. Also check out some choice reaction tweets below. Happy Superbowl Sunday!
@jcpenney Yo dudes – you need some pizza…? — Pizza Hut (@pizzahut) February 3, 2014
Eat a #SNICKERS, you’re not you when you’re hungry RT @JCPenney Who kkmew theis was ghiong tob e a baweball ghamle. #lowsscorinh 5_0
— SNICKERS® (@SNICKERS) February 3, 2014
Slow down, @jcpenney. Have some #Doritos.
— Doritos (@Doritos) February 3, 2014