Brands typically steer clear of the hard news trending on Twitter, preferring to use the platform to celebrate things like National Dog Day... or snarkily shut down peace offerings from competitors.
This has been a busy week for news, resulting in hundreds of thousands of Tweets around Monday’s stock market crash and the Virginia gunman shooting a reporter and photographer on-air. Neither of those are exactly conversation candy for brands, who generally prefer to go the light and irreverant route on social media.
Nothing sums up “light and irreverant” more than that pillar of the Internet, cute animals. Wednesday was National Dog Day, which generated more than half a million Tweets. Every brand in the world seemed to get on board, including obvious ones like PETA and Petco – the latter intelligently included a relevant call-to-action in its Tweet. Amazon did the same.
Spoil your dog on #NationalDogDay with great savings site-wide! Shop now: http://t.co/AvwjqLE4fA pic.twitter.com/9ziX0qQHdN
— Petco (@Petco) August 26, 2015
Every pup deserves a room with a view: http://t.co/O7ubcRiNsj #NationalDogDay pic.twitter.com/h0bp0EwBfo
— Amazon (@amazon) August 27, 2015
Some of the other brands tailoring their messages to National Dog Day included Disney, Samsung, and NASA.
Dug has just met you and he loves you. Happy #NationalDogDay! https://t.co/R4dpWY80MP
— Disney (@Disney) August 26, 2015
Your new best friend. #GalaxyS6 #NationalDogDay pic.twitter.com/8iHsbvJD1Y
— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) August 26, 2015
Happy #NationalDogDay! @Astro_Flow‘s dogs Jake & Scout joined him for his official portrait. http://t.co/2E2uqNwBJh pic.twitter.com/FK3ARst0nV
— NASA (@NASA) August 26, 2015
Many #NationalDogDay Tweets came from sports franchises, either showcasing athletes with their dogs or featuring dogs wearing their jerseys. My personal favorite came from the Green Bay Packers: a bulldog wearing a cheesehead hat.
Happy #NationalDogDay to all the #Packers pups out there! pic.twitter.com/xJhxmY1t5m
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 26, 2015
Burger King didn’t celebrate National Dog Day, instead tweeting an olive branch to McDonald’s. In the spirit of World Peace Day, which all United Nations member states observe on September 21, Burger King reached out to its rival to suggest the two companies join forces and create a McWhopper.
Burger King’s Tweet linked to a website detailing the proposal, which would entail the two brands combining their signature items that day at a pop-up restaurant. McDonald’s tweeted back a link to a letter chief executive Steve Easterbrook wrote on Facebook to the effect of, “We’re good, thanks.”
.@McDonalds let’s #SettleTheBeef to raise awareness for @PeaceOneDay. #McWhopperProposal http://t.co/GEXRHve53D pic.twitter.com/o3APQ2QzKC
— Burger King (@BurgerKing) August 26, 2015
Inspiration for a good cause @burgerking. Let’s do something to make a real difference. http://t.co/JjycHwwD5B
— McDonald’s (@McDonaldsCorp) August 26, 2015
Burger King’s proposed pop-up restaurant would be in Atlanta – a halfway point between Chicago and Miami, where the respective burger brands are headquartered. This prompted Krystal, an Atlanta-based fast food chain that spans the South, to join the conversation.
We have a #SteamyProposal for @BurgerKing. A new way to #SettleTheBeef for #PeaceDay. Accept, your royal Burger-ness? pic.twitter.com/ZhppAGsKqC
— Krystal (@Krystal) August 26, 2015
Burger King has yet to reply to Krystal.
This last Tweet really has nothing to do with anything, but I thought it was funny. This is my edition of Tweets of the Week and I can highlight those brilliant weirdos at Denny’s if I want to.
our theory is that zombies don’t actually crave human flesh but rather they have a weird disorder that makes people look like pancakes?
— Denny’s (@DennysDiner) August 24, 2015
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