Tweets of the Week: #CanadaDay Win and #UrbanOutfittersBeLike Fail

This week was a series of wins and fails on Twitter, from Urban Outfitters taking heat for its hipster-centric marketing to Tim Horton’s ingratiating itself to Canadian fans on a national holiday.

Early in the week, #UrbanOutfittersBeLike trended on Twitter to mock a set of $8 hair ties, prompting a media buzz and thousands of shares for the most popular Tweets in the series. 

#UrbanOutfittersBeLike Vintage lunch box $89.98 pic.twitter.com/8zRycqG6XY

— July 3rd (@DJKnowledge__) June 26, 2015

#UrbanOutfittersBeLike classic weekender tote bag $59.99 pic.twitter.com/rWWHajdpWw

— . (@GRANTGOGETS) June 26, 2015

#UrbanOutfittersBeLike vintage clear boho beanie $49.95 pic.twitter.com/sBSHrQO9Pe

— Megan Marie (@meganthropy) June 27, 2015

But perhaps the biggest fail of all was the fact that Urban Outfitters never responded to the popular hashtag. Laughing at itself on social media could have shown the brand’s lighter side. 

For #InternationalJokeDay, many brands told cheesy jokes, but much of the humor seemed lost in translation.

Mornings tripping you up? Try a strudel. No peels required. #safetyfirst #internationaljokeday pic.twitter.com/eaRJs9gYOu

— Toaster Strudel (@ToasterStrudel) July 1, 2014

What did one nacho chip say to the other? “Hey! That’s na cho cheese!” #InternationalJokeDay

— Old El Paso (@OldElPasoSA) July 1, 2014

However, casual dining chain Tim Horton’s got a tremendous response when it used #CanadaDay to crowdsource ideas for its Canadian “Ehmoji” keyboard. The #TextLikeaCanadian hashtag also trended, providing a good example of a brand creating a thoughtful campaign that contributes to, rather than intrudes upon, topical Twitter conversation.

You tweeted, we listened. For #CanadaDay, we’ve added 3 new EHmojis! Keep suggestions coming with #TextLikeaCanadian pic.twitter.com/kxhJHVLp3T

— Tim Hortons (@TimHortons) July 1, 2015

Which Canadian pastime would make a good EHmoji? RT for canoeing or favourite for curling. #TextLikeaCanadian pic.twitter.com/aLZlup7CQs

— Tim Hortons (@TimHortons) July 1, 2015

And finally, hamburger chain White Castle used a spur-of-the-moment hashtag to post a cute throwback Thursday picture that stirred up nostalgia among fans. 

#HowIShowMyAge This pic pretty much says it all. pic.twitter.com/e8EEelyxVP

— White Castle (@WhiteCastle) July 2, 2015