![\"bic\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kent-business-matters\/files\/2016\/04\/bic.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIn 2015 the South Africa division of Bic pulled this inconceivably sexist ad after receiving a hostile response on social media. The \u201cempowering\u201d ad implies that while women are great at looking good, it\u2019s best to leave the thinking to the men. To add salt to the wound, it was published on National Women\u2019s Day to honour the occasion.<\/p>\n
Bic apologised, claiming the message was inspired by a post on a blog about women in business. However it wasn\u2019t the first time Bic has been accused of being sexist. In 2012 a line of \u201cfor her\u201d pens was launched with Bic claiming they were, \u201cdesigned to fit comfortably in a woman\u2019s hand.\u201d Possibly time for a new pen?<\/p>\n
3. Starbucks<\/h2>\n
The design and marketing team were unlikely prepared for such controversy when they launched their simplistic holiday season design in 2015. Every year the release of the red holiday cup, with a variety of designs is met with much anticipation and according to Starbucks, “Within the first 48 hours of red Starbucks cups launching last year (2014), a photo of a Starbucks holiday cup was shared on Instagram every 14 seconds.” Wow!<\/p>\n Last year they went with a minimalist, fresh new design; a solid red cup, with the green Starbucks logo \u2013 a safe bet right? Or not. Customers were left upset because they expected a more traditional Christmas design and Starbucks was accused of being over politically correct and ruining Christmas. Some even accused the company of hating Jesus. Although typically the cup has never featured overly religious symbols but focusses more on snowflakes and candy cane imagery.<\/p>\n Did this fiasco damage the brand? It effectively turned millions of people into marketers, with the topic trending globally on Facebook and Twitter. Starbucks stock prices weren\u2019t overly affected and the protesters still bought their Christmas Cookie Lattes. What will 2016 bring?<\/p>\n Such a campaign is risky when, as hugely popular as McDoanld\u2019s is, it does come with its fair share of haters. It wasn\u2019t long before this became a #bashtag, with people worldwide hijacking the hashtag to share their negative experiences and horror stories from visits to the chain. Even ex ex-employees got involved.<\/p>\n #McDStories<\/a> too many -_- I work at that wretched place<\/p>\n \u2014 Meg (@heylookitsmegz) January 18, 2012<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n #McDStories<\/a> some woman saw a mouse and started running around screaming. the people behind the counter acted like it happened all the time.<\/p>\n \u2014 Nora Panahi (@heyychief) January 18, 2012<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n one time I got a chicken sandwich that wasn’t cooked and I didn’t know till I had eaten half of it. never got one of those again #McDStories<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sydney Carlino (@sydsydney) January 18, 2012<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Even though the campaign was pulled after just two hours the hashtag is still used by many to this day.<\/p>\n I was given a double cheese burger with ketchup only. It’s incredible that they gave me exactly what I didn’t want. #McDStories<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Turner (@TurnerDowhan) April 19, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n This fail highlights that crowd-sourced campaigns are impossible for a company to control, let alone stop. However it is worth noting on that infamous day there were 72,788 mentions of McDonald\u2019s overall, and only 2% of those were attributed to #McDStories. Share prices have continued to rise and the brand remains largely unaffected.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n4. McDonald’s<\/h2>\n
<\/a>
\nIn 2012, McDonald\u2019s launched a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #McDStories hoping to encourage engagement and consumer interaction. The goal: to inspire people to share heart-warming stories about the good times they have at McDonald’s.<\/p>\n\n
\n
4.\u00a0Heinz<\/h2>\n