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Brands and corporations around the world have embraced social media as a tool to communicate directly with their current and potential customers, but the public hasn’t always embraced them back. There are lots of reasons why a brand’s social media communications might fail, but when they do, accounts like Brands Owned on Twitter are always there to take pictures and appreciate the damage.

Some of these burns might be cheap shots or just innocent witty banter, but in some cases, internet commentators take the opportunity to highlight very real issues with these brands’ and corporations’ operations.

#1

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

andrwfhenderson Report

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Chihuahua Mama
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Always kills me when big companies try to pin climate change on the regular individual

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#2

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

BrandsOwned Report

Twitter accounts like Brands Owned are about more than just celebrating witty and snarky clapbacks. They tend to represent a cluster of different political value systems that can unite over a shared distrust of corporations. On a more basic level, they also give voice to some social media users’ discomfort over the idea of brand and corporations trying to pretend that they’re people.

#4

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

BrandsOwned Report

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Libstak
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bwuhaha, I'm betting that wasn't the topic and I bow to him, well played

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#5

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

TheBlueGem3 Report

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Ivo H
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10 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

McDonalds should probably start selling aloe vera to have plenty of it at hand to treat this burn

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This approach to corporate/brand social media communication is a relatively recent phenomenon with a few different names, including brand humanization, personification, and anthropomorphism. In a practical sense, each of these practices seek a similar goal: making a brand, product or corporation seem like it has an individual character/personality.

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#7

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

vexwerewolf Report

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Hphizzle
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Weren’t they just complaining 2 minutes ago that everything is going to c**p because of over population?? Make up your mind major news outlets.

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#8

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

BrandsOwned Report

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Zedrapazia
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What even is the concurrence? Apple is overpriced büllshit and Linux just exists without anyone ever giving it attention. It's Windows or nothing at this point

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Social media isn’t the first or even the most culturally prevalent way in which companies have tried to achieve this. In the past (and to this day, some companies relied on charismatic or influential leaders to give them a human face. Consider Steve Jobs at Apple or Elon Musk at Tesla. Other companies have opted for mascots, like Mr. Clean, most child-oriented breakfast cereals, or the M&Ms mascots.

#10

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

kittynouveau Report

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Seabeast
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, he really looks like he's suffering in that photo. Poor fellow, I bet that's last season's suit he's wearing. /s

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#12

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

oliver2981 Report

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Ren Karlej
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do love seeing this one again and again on BP... there are no official government or council-level rules on parent and child parking in the same way you’d get for disabled parking spaces. Parking in a supermarket car park is managed and enforced by the supermarket itself, or by a private parking management company. That means it’s not illegal to park in a parent and child space without a child. But you could get a Parking Charge Notice (PCN), the same as you would if you overstayed in a car park. Who knows why they parked there - car park could have been full when they arrived in an emergency or they could be totoal kn0bheads...

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What’s different about the social media trend is that it’s happening in a space where the public is being engaged. Brands are inviting people to respond to their questions, but some of them aren’t getting the responses they were hoping for! The creation of a brand identity that people can engage with and talk to opens a whole new can of worms in terms of brand communication.

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#15

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

emily_ladau Report

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Pamela24
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Breaking a wheelchair is literally like breaking someone's limb. Hope she got her money back to be able to get a new one.

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These entities, at their core, are powerful profit-oriented enterprises. Naturally, this means they can make ethical missteps that the public will disapprove of, and when they try to later represent themselves as affable individuals, the public can still remember and address their past injustices.

#16

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

jackcalifano Report

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frederick clause
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Where I am there are so many great independent coffee shops that I think the only reason anyone still goes to Starbucks is that is another illusionary status symbol.

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#18

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

delusionalhulk Report

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Ren Karlej
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, the CEOs do need their massive bonuses and gargantuan salaries... how on earth could they buy a bigger yacht than their neighbour otherwise? Would be terrible for them.

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Despite these risks, there is research out there indicating that this strategy can provide positive results. According to a study republished on Science Direct, “The results indicate that brand anthropomorphism is a valid predictor of outcomes such as brand trust and brand commitment. Finally, in support of incremental validity, it is identified that the [brand anthropomorphism scale] explains variance in brand trust and brand commitment above and beyond the measure of brand anthropomorphism commonly employed in the literature.”

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#19

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

PenguinRandomCA Report

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Carl Roberts
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I blocked Penguin Random House when they announced they would be censoring/ altering 100 year old books.

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#20

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

tacobell Report

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Hphizzle
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

“Is your lemonade made with real lemons?” “ Are your Girl Scout cookies made from real Girl Scouts?” Addams Family.

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What all of this means is that IF a brand manages to successfully create a friendly or otherwise memorable and pleasant public-facing personality, they can count on that impression to influence consumers’ decisions when they decide how to spend their money. This is a goal that many brands hope for but, as we can see in this list, few actually achieve!

#24

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

FaithfulFilth Report

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Sedona
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is this actually true? It seems like an urban legend at this point. Genuinely asking.

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Alex
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes. PETA is actually super crazy. They run horrific shelters in which they euthanize like 90 percent of every animal that enters them. Look into PETA- they make good animal rights orgs like the ASPCA look bad.

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whatever
Community Member
10 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you Pete Davidson for publicly telling PETA to go f*k themselves.

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MushroomHead22
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

but can they tell us what's the harm in sucking cow ti*ties? i mean they need to let that milk go or the cow will be in massive pain... once the milk is out what they want to do with it? throw it out? i mean at that point it's something that was naturally produced, which what they're all about.

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Moezzzz
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

https://www.petrelocation.com/blog/post/peta-kills-97-of-their-saved-animals

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Jonathan MacFarlane
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've never drank milk once in my life, and I'm seriously starting to consider doing it right next to PETA just to drive them insane.

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Deborah Rubin
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No, PETA does this. Hypocrites of the first order. Terrible people. And it's an udder, not a 'boob.' I hate that word.

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Cat lover
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What happen to this peta thing? Does someone can give me brief and objective explanation?

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Biscuitbot
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I interned with PETA UK and they were just a group of super compassionate people trying to bring awareness of suffering. Also worked closely with PETA India and had the same experience. There's been smear campaigns against them for decades now though

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David
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes PETA - I have done that. Sue me. LOL. I didn't actually suck on the teat but I've squirted it into my mouth. The raised milking platform the cows stand on puts the udder at roughly shoulder height.

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Duncan
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People Eating Tasty Animals - I am PETA through and through.

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LooseSeal's $10 Banana
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm just gonna say what we're all thinking. Some weirdo masturbated to that picture.

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Joseph Gelfo
Community Member
10 months ago

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I feel like PETA is like Adult swim: Scare the non-target so they don't go on the route!

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Jaya
Community Member
10 months ago

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Isn't it interesting how we prefer to attack Peta instead of adressing their argument about milk? Because regardless of what they do themselves, they do have a point here: drinking cow milk as a human is really weird, when you think about it. But if we attack them for what they do, even when that's deserved critique, we don't have to think about the reality of the milk industry, and can continue to feel superior.

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Helen Thomas
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you. Exactly this. Never underestimate the power of mass media to discredit orgs they hate. I'm no vegan, but I've worked in animal shelters and euthanasia usually occurs when animals can't be rehomed. Every shelter is usually overflowing at any one time in the year, but they don't euthanise for no reason. I don't know the truth about Peta's actual practices, but I've seen many a campaign against individuals and orgs by the media who have another agenda entirely :( but I do know dairy farming is unethical simply for the volume of bobby calves (almost half a mill) get slaughtered every year, most not ending up on a dinner table.

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Whether or not we like it, this is a trend that is growing in many different industries. If you have a smartphone, it is likely that you can also use a digital assistant on it that has a human voice and can speak to you in full sentences. Websites are experimenting with using ChatGPT so they can provide every single visitor the impression of communicating with a human representative - without actually having to provide the customer service reps to do so.

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#25

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

SimuLiu Report

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Lakota Wolf
Community Member
10 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This might sound weird from someone who is white af, but I am SO happy to see Asian representation in Hollywood finally. A24 does fabulous work, and I'm so glad that Everything Everywhere All at Once took Best Picture in this year's Oscars and that Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Daniel Kwan also took Best in their respective categories. (I'm not a huge fan of the Oscars, I'm kind of against them, but still am happy to finally see Asian actors/directors get the acknowledgement they deserve!) Simu Liu is a great actor and Shang-Chi is a pretty entertaining movie, even if you don't like superhero films!

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#26

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

BrandsOwned Report

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MushroomHead22
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For great liquid cooling, try iced water. Coffee will just make you thirstier.

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#27

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

BrandsOwned Report

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ThatCapybara
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Free ice creams for all who didn’t get at McDonalds 😌🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦🍦

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#32

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

BrandsOwned Report

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Seabeast
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well sure, they use slaves, but they inclusively use trans slaves, so it's all good!

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#33

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

BrandsOwned Report

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Regulus Black
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I heard they were making a live action of Angry Birds movie, the villain does look scary

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#38

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

lookingsuite Report

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Anon822209
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Eddie/Suzy Izzard has been one of my favorite comedians for decades. She's hilarious and smart and was wearing heels on stage way back in the 90s.

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#39

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

Wendys Report

#40

Brands-Getting-Owned-On-Twitter

BrandsOwned Report

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Sum Guy
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10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Seems like someone "built their own pizza" and didn't include anything but the topping

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