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30 Times PR & Companies Messed Up So Bad It Made Some Of Them Face Bankruptcy
Interview
Running a successful corporation can’t be easy, which is why they're typically well-oiled machines kept on tight leashes. But every now and then, companies commit shockingly terrible blunders that will always be remembered as masterclasses in what not to do.
Reddit users have recently been reminding others of some of these historic mistakes, including the biggest PR disasters we’ve watched unfold, so we’ve gathered the worst stories down below. Enjoy reading about these trainwrecks that you can be glad you weren't responsible for, and be sure to upvote the ones that must have required significant damage control!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
One of Swedens biggest firms for building managing is called Locum. In the late nineties it was very cool for companies to have logos where their names were spelled in lower caps. So the logo was "locum". One Christmas Locum took out big ads in the biggest papers wishing everyone a merry Christmas and conveying the love that they felt for Sweden. How did they decide to do this? By replacing the "o" in locum with a heart of course.
So big ads that looked like this: "l ♥ c*m".
KJ 2 years ago
So a group of people looked at the final ad and thought, yup, nothing wrong with this logo!
Vicki Doggurl 2 years ago
But it’s Swedish so the word probably doesn’t mean the same as it does in English speaking countries.
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Sofie Andersson 2 years ago
Yes, but this is sweden and we speak swedish. I know what the last three letters mean in english, but it wouldnt immediately come to my mind.
Auntriarch 2 years ago
True, but Swedish people know more English than English people know Swedish, so we don't expect it 😂
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Marcelo Origoni 2 years ago
I don't see why. Imagine having to proof check everything you want to out in an ad, because in another language it means something taboo
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RELATED:
#2
Nestle convincing thousands of women in low income countries that they should wean off their babies and substitute breast milk for extremely expensive formula because breast milk wasn't fully nutritious, but also forcing new mothers to spend 30% of their income JUST on baby formula, which made them try save it to last way longer than it should and ended up killing their kids from malnutrition.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Nestl%C3%A9_boycott
KJ 2 years ago
Nestle really is a crappy company, they keep doing awful things just for a cash grab.
Jill Rhodry 2 years ago
It gets even better - you need water to make up formula, you need water to sanatise baby bottles, you need literacy to understand these things - what don't they have in developing nations - clean water and literacy. Babies died.
Fenchurch 2 years ago (edited)
Well they gave women who didn't have access to clean water, free baby formula and told them it was better for the baby than breastfeeding. The woman sadly used the formula and stopped breastfeeding. Then the freebies were used up, breast milk had dried up... That's when they gouged then on prices for more formula, those whose babies hadn't died because of lack of access to clean water. 🙄
DarkViolet 2 years ago
Oh, demons do exist. You can't always see the horns for the $300 'do, the tail for the $3000 suit, or notice the foul stench for the $700 cologne. But they exist.
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Mike Fitzpatrick 2 years ago
Probably the more disturbing thing in this scenario is that SOMEHOW they were able to convince people of the lack of nutrition in mother's milk. This is insane all by itself since mother's milk has been sustaining human infants (with some exceptions) for thousands of years! Was the government complicit in this?
Tyranamar Seuss 2 years ago
These weren't super well nourished women. So it was easy to believe.
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LokisLilButterknife 2 years ago (edited)
Nestle is a vile company. It it so hard to boycott all of their products though as they own so many brands both in the United States and internationally. To make it even more confusing some of these brands have different names depending on the country.
Robin Roper 2 years ago
Everything owned by Nestle: https://wyomingllcattorney.com/Blog/Everything-Owned-by-Nestle
Isa 2 years ago
Nestle Maggie a type of noodle was banned in India for containing excessive lead .It is back again now but I have not eaten it ever since.Its been 10 yrs now
SarDemMin 2 years ago
See, I did not know this. That's why this post needs to be shared often.
Load More Replies...To hear more about how this conversation started, we reached out to the Reddit user who posed the question, "What are some of the worst corporate blunders or PR disasters in history?", and lucky for us, they were kind enough to share some insight. Apparently, their question was inspired by the fact that it was recently the 10 year anniversary of Microsoft's "disastrous" XBox One reveal event.
According to Business Insider, some of the glaring issues with the XBox One at that time were the fact that it required a constant internet connection, it was not compatible with used games, every Xbox One would come with a Kinect motion sensor, and the Xbox One was priced at $500 when it launched (which was $100 more than the PlayStation 4).
#3
Not the worst certainly but the one that makes me smile whenever I think of it.
I work for a pretty big company with offices in pretty much every country. Billions in profit every year and one of the leaders in our field. About 15 years ago there was an internal announcement that we were going to rebrand in a couple months.
A guy who I vaguely knew was already on his way out the door but before he left he grabbed the domain name that the company would definitely want to have as part of their rebranding but had not yet reserved. So a week later when they finally got around to trying to reserve it they found it occupied with a tiny website that only had a gif of a character dancing with the caption, "I got your domain!"
I have no idea what they had to pay him to get it.
Take me to dinner first 2 years ago
This is the kind of priceless thing that he must have felt SO HAPPY to experience
nbfresh 2 years ago
it makes ME feel happy knowing that it happened! who's expendable again? lol
Load More Replies... Anonymous 2 years ago
FYI... this is now considered "cybersquatting" and corporations can use their lawyers to get the domain name for free.
Jrog 2 years ago (edited)
Not always. Microsoft failed to have MikeRoweSoft reassigned and had to settle. Armani had a few long legal battles over the domain, some won (against Armani Stamps, a small store owner who registered the name under the guise of his store but with clear intent to resell) and some lost (against Mr. Anand Ramnath Mani of Vancouver, who demonstrated continued use of his name initials A.R.Mani as a brand for his business). TikTok had a legal fight that went on for years to get TikToks.com reassigned, they could have spent a few thousands early on and instead spent hundreds of thousands on layers.
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Jrog 2 years ago
(unethical) Pro tip: if you ever happen to do something like this, do not put just a placeholder on the squatted page, put something minimally meaningful. I.e., if you squat BoredPanda put some photos of pandas and a short text discussing how pandas are boring. If you don't, the legitimate owner would have a easy fight getting the domain reassigned, since the current jurisprudence tends to side with the petitioner that can demonstrate an actual use of the domain.
Aaron Dodd 2 years ago
If they were smart they'd have just sued, or threatened to sue. He bought it based on knowledge obtained while employed and, based on how he was using it, was just cubersquatting it, which is often grounds for registrars to revoke it.
Ken Beattie 2 years ago
Costs money to fight. Has to be proven. All takes time. If they were on a schedule and intended to stick with it makes better financial sense to just pay it out. As long as the guy doesn't ask a ridiculous amount of money for it of course.
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Son of Philosoraptor 2 years ago
Sounds good but he'd be prevented from profiting off his company due to insider info he got from that same company. Elected officials can do it, sure, but not normal people.
Origami Chik3n 2 years ago
If i remember correctly, there is a way to legally take over the domain with company's registered trademark name if they can prove that it was reserved just so the company would be forced to buy it out at a high markup price. "I got your domain" would be kinda self implicating in such case.
#4
Here’s one happening right now: HBO is rebranding as “Max”.
HBO is a premium brand with decades of quality programming behind it.
Max is generic, vague, and makes me think of soft core p**n.
James016 2 years ago
A lot of times rebranding makes no sense. Here in the UK, the well known coach/bus company National Express is changing its name to Mobico.
Fenchurch 2 years ago
What! That's so stupid. Throw away years of brand recognition... For what exactly? But then I'm old, so always use Jif, and eat Marathons and Opal Fruits.
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Stephanie A Mutti 2 years ago
Right??? And wasn't there CineMax???? Did they absorb Cinemax or did it just fold,, because when I think movies and Max, I think Cinemax.
Two_rolling_black_eyes 2 years ago
Cinemax aka Skinamax was the adult oriented cable channel founded by HBO. Many young boys in the 80s and 90s blossomed in puberty watching partially scrambled softcore porn on the the channel.
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Cat Chat 2 years ago
Where I live, there's a local health insurance/healthcare company rebranding from Intermountain Healthcare to Intermountain Health, so, basically, it comes down to "Taking the Care out of Health" 🙄 I think, after hearing people joke about it like that they are changing their mind (maybe?).
Melinda Layten 2 years ago
As long as the name includes HBO they have to pay residuals, but MAX is a new streaming service with no contracted residuals. So apparently s******g their past contracts >> Branding
Cool Granny 2 years ago
What are residuals? Why the site changed what I wrote? gosh!
Load More Replies... Billy Harrelson 2 years ago
HBO was part of TimeWarner (owners of Warner Bros.) and they recently merged with the owners of the Discovery Channel to form, Warner Bros. Discovery. This is likely how they're merging Max with Discovery+ so they can overcharge people who don't want to watch GoT but rather a documentary.
Firefly 2 years ago
What! Noooooooo. I love the cooking shows and documentaries on Discovery+. I have no interest in HBO.
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Diplodocus Dinosaur 2 years ago
Why do some companies think that changing their wellknown, well established and easily recognizable name/logo is a good idea??? 🤔
"I wanted to see what other similarly disastrous corporate/PR blunders happened in history, their impact, and how the company recovered (if at all)," the OP told Bored Panda.
And as far as what causes these disasters, they noted, "I think most blunders are a result of poor planning - from logistics to being ignorant of specific cultures where a promotion happens, or just general lack of awareness to understand when certain ideas or innovations are ready to be received by the public."
#5
In Canada, when the Conservative Party merged with the Reform party they called themselves the Canadian Reform Alliance Party or as all Canadian comedians realized “C**P”. It was hilarious for 48 hours before the changed it. Never forget C**P
David Wambold 2 years ago
Nixon- Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP ending up being called CREEP)
David Green 2 years ago
For some reason I am reminded of the apocryphal story of the Cambridge University New Testament Society who took some time to comprehend the issue.
A B C the Third 2 years ago
CRÀP. GODDAMN, BP, CRÀP! Stop censoring the punchlines, or don't try to use the joke at all. This censoring is so ridiculous.
General Anaesthesia 2 years ago (edited)
To think it took a whole think tank and tons of money to come up with that name, while the acronym cost nothing.
Fish Fingers 2 years ago
I remember when 'The War Against Terror ' very quickly changed to 'The War On Terror'!
#6
Supposedly years ago, there was a Pepsi slogan "Come Alive with Pepsi" that was mistranslated in Chinese as "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Dead."
Seabeast 2 years ago
It sounds horrific. I certainly don't want my ancestors coming back to life and hanging around my house!
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Dave In MD 2 years ago
Actually it was the slogan, "Coke adds life" that supposedly was translated to "Coke Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Dead". Not sure if that was true but it was Coke not Pepsi.
JL 2 years ago
Actually it was Pepsi. Coke had their own issue - "In China, the Coca-Cola name was read as “Kekoukela” which depending on the dialect meant “Bite the Wax Tadpole” or “Female Horse Stuffed with Wax.” Coke finally settled with “kokoukole” translating to “Happiness in the Mouth,"
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glowworm2 2 years ago
Yeah, I've seen this one in an urban legend book before. Snopes.com says it's undetermined on whether this one is real or not.
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Greta Free 2 years ago
I remember this: In the 1920s, when Coca-Cola was first translated phonetically into Chinese, the resultant phrase meant "bite the wax tadpole."
#7
Blockbuster refusing to buy Netflix
Lisa Westerfield 2 years ago
According to a book I read, they also turned down buying Red Box.
Rahul Pawa 2 years ago
Before streaming became a thing, Blockbuster had a great DVD-by-mail subscription that was way better than Netflix's similar program. It worked the same way except that instead of sending movies back in the mail, I could trade them in at my local store for a movie or game rental, and they would immediately send out the next movie on my list. So the time to get my next movie in the mail was way shorter, plus I walked out of the store with a rental.
RavenTheCat 2 years ago
They weren't really stupid, they weren't sellouts. They took a risk believing in their set way of movies, hell i miss blockbuster deeply. Keep in mind this is a personal opinion
Id row 2 years ago
lol, I just cited this example in one of the entries above. Blockbuster could have had Netflix for 50 million and because of their arrogance, they laughed them out of the room.
Tristan J 2 years ago
Easy for you to say in hindsight. There are lots of start ups that try and sell for that kind of figure, and many of them never turn a profit. It isn't necessarily arrogance as much as calculated risk, and in this case didn't work out.
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Wendy McNeil 2 years ago
Maybe if they would have bought neflix, we wouldn't all be cancelling because of password sharing..greedy giant..hope it falls hard
Take me to dinner first 2 years ago
Good on you, block, you'll live in our memories forever while Netflix will soon become obsolete
Asher Tye 2 years ago
Not so sure about that but the thing is it could have been any streaming service. Just like the Sears example above, Blockbuster failed to see the value of the upcoming service and rendered themselves unable to compete when it finally got adopted by the public. This was boneheaded because, IIRC, the price they were offered was a rather cheap one that would have let them essentially carry Netflix easily until it did become the streaming giant it was destined to be.
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cogadh 2 years ago
To be fair, at the time Netflix was trying to sell because they were basically failing. Streaming was not even a concept yet and they were only doing the DVD by mail business that no one was buying. The sale to Blockbuster would not have been much more than the assets and mailing list, not the successful business that Netflix eventually became.
#8
Blackberry thinking that they are the top in the mobile market so they didn't need to innovate to compete with those new iPhone things from Apple.
TotallyNOTaFox 2 years ago (edited)
The funeral of the iPhone held by Microsoft didn't really turn out good either
Fat Harry 2 years ago
The sad thing is that the Windows phones were actually excellent - clear, intuitive interface, easy to use. They just came too late to the market so no one wanted to develop apps for them. I had two Windows phones and they were among the best (and most reasonably priced) phones I ever owned.
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Alexia 2 years ago
I was in love with Blackberry phones. Wish they had at least tried to innovate.
Mathias 2 years ago
They did, BB10 was way superior than any other mobile OS. And the really really sad thing is. It still is today. Yes it was that good. Android is giving me major headaches and so does iOS, both are a big step back. Even today 6 years later they didn't catch up because they don't want to - you are not the customer, you are the product to both companies - and the consumers don't care. Just look at your post, you think Blackberry didn't innovate. It did, you didn't notice. Talking only about the system, not the Apps. What broke Blackberrys back was their arrogant and toxic management. Blackberry is a prime example of how a technologically leading far superior company goes bankrupt because it's leadership is not competent. The other part is that their management delayed touch devices which really hurt them but without the first part they very likely had made it, the combination of bouth was too much.
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Allen Packard 2 years ago
I'd still rather have a Blackberry over an Apple. Just overpriced garbage.
Behnjamin 2 years ago
I miss Blackberry! My first smartphone was the BlackBerry Pearl! Absolutley loved it! I got the BBPriv back in 2016 loved it too! I loved the physical keyboard and all the features the phone had! BB made a great phone and OS, but alas they screwed themselves out of the phone marktet
#9
Sears dominated the mail order industry for over a century with their catalog. In 1993, they decided that mail order was on the decline and discontinued the catalog. Less than a year later, Jeff Bezos would found Amazon.
David Wambold 2 years ago
Used to circle stuff we wanted for Christmas in Sears catalog. Saved mom and dad time trying to figure it out.
Karen Krause 2 years ago
It wasn't called the "Wish Book" for nothing! Loved when the catalogs came out for Christmas.
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David H 2 years ago
Sears actually went online before Amazon, they just didn't have a good online pay system and encouraged people to call in orders by phone like they would from the catalog. One exec, who said they should create their own digital payment system for credit cards with a easy to purchase from website was fired for "stupid ideas", and had they listened to him, Sears would be the big player today, not Amazon. It was old men in a board room unable to see where things were going. Though to be fair Paul Krugman in the 90s thought online shopping was a fad that would be gone by 2005
David 2 years ago
This is very much one of those "young people won't get it" kind of things. I can remember paging through the new sears catalog looking for things I might want. Noting page corners my mom had folded over for things she might want. Learning about new products I didn't know existed - because back then we didn't have - Internet / a local mall / a bazillian channels on TV. I remember being a little sad when they stopped the catalog. I wouldn't use it now - cuz internet - but .. memories...
Boredest Disabled Panda 2 years ago
At 58 years old, I get it. Especially the part about learning about new products. Back then, the town I lived in was fairly small and probably the best store we had was JC Penney. Sears was in the next town over so we didn't make it there that often. It was a huge deal when we finally got a mall! Like we had transitioned to being a real city, 😆.
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Gøøse 2 years ago
These are two unrelated incidents, as Amazon was originally a bookstore and wouldn't sell other things for quite a while.
Boredest Disabled Panda 2 years ago (edited)
It isn't completely unrelated. The point was that Amazon came up with a business model that Sears refused to consider, which is why Sears is now pretty much dead. According to a comment above, Sears actually had an online presence before Amazon came along, but encouraged people to order by phone because their online payment system was so bad. When someone suggested that they make the payment system easier, they were fired. Apparently Sears didn't understand that one reason their mail-order wasn't doing well was because they were not keeping up with the times by having a user-friendly website, instead wanting people to still phone in their orders.
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Hey! 2 years ago
Where I lived we also had front-street stores. People would still place their order but most would pick it up at the store (it was cheaper I think) but the stores also had all sorts of things like vacuums, washer/dryer, carpets, beds, etc. Then they all disappeared. Later on I read a biography and it was a family matter; I think it was two daughters that were fighting.
Hey! 2 years ago
I've lived in one when I got married but didn't know that was the name of it. Quite nice too. I prefer the old houses than the new ones - at least here where I live. Our house now is almost 80 y.o.
Load More Replies... Satan Laughs 2 years ago
Mail order was on the decline but all they had to do was digitize their current inventory. Online catalogs, of sorts. Instead of pioneering the cyber world they sorta fell off the face of the planet, sadly. Loved those thick catalogs.
#10
One funny one that always springs to mind is the Britain’s Got Talent winner Susan Boyle releasing her first album and her management coming up with a twitter hashtag to promote it: #susanalbumparty
Sus (Su’s)
A**l
Bum
Party
It trended number one but not because of the actual album lol
Isabella 2 years ago
She didn't win, she was on 2nd place, but she won the public nevertheless.
Monday 2 years ago
She's still the person I think about when someone throws out the phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover". I still think that's terrible advice for books though.
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Chewie Baron 2 years ago
There’s been a few hashtag blunders I remember, when Thatcher died, there was the hashtag #nowthatcherisdead asking people upset about Cher! , the Cheltenham Literature Festival came up with #clitfest! But no one could find it.
Rahul Pawa 2 years ago (edited)
I can imagine this on 90's SNL Jeopardy. "That's, An Album Party, Mr. Connery" 😂
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ZuriLovesYou 1 year ago
I feel like this isn't her or her management's fault. I feel like this just the public having a dirty mind.
#11
* Coke making New Coke
* Kodak refusing to go digital believing people would stay true to film
* Toys R Us neglecting their online sales experience
Elisa Arden 2 years ago
I can still smell Toys R Us! It was the smell of plastic and Christmas!
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The Original Bruno 2 years ago (edited)
Coke making New Coke was evil but brilliant! They switched from sugar to cheap, sickly corn syrup and no-one noticed because the "classic" corn-syrup c**p was an improvement on the corn-syrup "New Coke." Meanwhile, the failure of New Coke was blamed on making Coke taste more like their arch-nemesis, Pepsi.
Mathias 2 years ago
Please stop spreading the myth of Kodak refusing to go digital. Kodak was the driving force behind going digital. They pioneered it. In the beginning of digital there was only one brand you could get and that was Kodak. Digital Nikon or Canon cameras had Kodak sensor backs. Kodak developed and sold the first full frame Sensor in the 90s still, it was excellent only in the mid 2000s Canon came with something better. However their company was structured around film and with the profit margin that digital photography offered their company structure couldn't work and they were too big to restructure in time. They knew all this. They knew the will not survive and there was absolutely nothing they can do about it. Yet they did their best to develop digital camera sensors and did so for a very long time until they couldn't afford it anymore and had to sell what was left.
Jrog 2 years ago
Kodak was a company relying heavily on government subsides for military and space hardware. Corona, Gambit and Hexagon spy satellites programs were fueled by Kodak lenses, films and cameras. Then, the cold war ended, the stream of cash slowed down and this coincided with FujiFilm entering the american market heavy handed. They struggled in adapting, and branched into failed enterprises with printers and digital services.
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Markus Holstein 2 years ago
They made most of their profits selling films and feared digital photography would harm their sales. Then, once the patent ran out and every other company started marketing digital cameras, nobody wanted films any more
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Joel Hopkins 2 years ago
Bain Capital ( Mitt Romney's private equity company ) had much more to do with the demise of Toy's R Us than online sales did. They basically did the same thing to Kay Bee Toys. Private Equity is EVIL.
Whiskey Tango Delicious 2 years ago
That, and, the Toys r Us in times square, NYC, rent cost them $100,000... Per day
Happy Homemaker 2 years ago (edited)
Somehow I believe that. 😳 (My brother used to work in a building in Times Square.)
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Baali Venomax 2 years ago
Kodak must have backtracked on that because I own a Kodak digital camera
Jeremy Bolanos 2 years ago
Toys R Us was so overpriced that people would just check the Amazon price at the store anyway.
Satan Laughs 2 years ago
I took my 4 year old to Toys R Us when the store was 70-80 percent off. It was magical for both of us. I don’t regret the 5 foot shark toy or the bunch of other stuff we were finally able to afford. Spent about $25 total for a full cart— sigh.
#12
Have you heard of the [Osborne Effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect)?
TLDR: Company in 1981 has one of the first home computers on the market, it sounds fantastic and everything. At the launch, CEO says the next version will be so much better.... So everyone decided why buy this version if the next version will be better? We'll wait for V2.
So V1 sold terribly, company folded, there is no V2.
Rahul Pawa 2 years ago
Nowadays it's a given that a tech company will come out with an improved version of their products every year. The idea of the next version being better doesn't seem to hurt sales terribly.
Something 2 years ago
On the other hand, the improvements aren't usually that good.
Load More Replies... Rachel Ainsworth 2 years ago
Restaurant in Thailand advertised itself as 2nd best pizza in town.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
Right out of Avis Rental Car’s playbook. Did they also say they try harder?
Load More Replies... Boredest Disabled Panda 2 years ago
I certainly wouldn't be qualified to be in product development. The first time I encountered a home PC I thought it was just a fancy word processor/calculator with a few hokey games thrown in. I wasn't impressed. It was until the internet came along that I became interested in having one for myself.
Bec 2 years ago
They said the quiet part out loud. I knew an engineer, 4.0 student all through school, graduated and got a good job at a company that makes satellites, mainly for the government. Hated their job because while one is being built, you're selling the next one to them because the one being built is going to be obsolete. That's just how technology works though
Jon Steensen 2 years ago
That is always the delimma with buying a computer, a phone etc. Tech developes so fast that no matter what you do, the item will be outdated the week after you buy it.
Kitty Divine 2 years ago
I played so many games on this thing... up-up-up-right-right-up-left with those damn arrow keys...
#13
Digiorno trying to make the hashtag "Why I Stayed" be about making pizza at home.
𝖊𝖜𝖔𝛋 2 years ago
Remember at an old job our fresh out of uni social media coordinator person got fired after two weeks, she used a hash-tag for exam results day (education services company) without checking. It was linked to an STD awareness and check yourself campaign, caused so many problems!
Lorraine 2 years ago
Most people don't understand social media. In 2018 the company I was working for fired the social media person and they thought I was the next best thing to do that job. They didn't have an strategy, content, calendars... the basics for start. The CEO sister (it was a family company, big but old fashioned) was always asking why I wasn't posting on Instagram, because she really thought you just uploaded cute pictures from your phone with a bunch of HTs and that's it.
Miss Revelle 2 years ago
Very clueless but that is also why some stay. Not for pizza but for food.
#14
JC Penney tried to eliminate the tons of sales and never-ending discounts on their products by just pricing them at what they would normally be, aiming for a “fair and square” price model. Instead of marking a shirt up to $10 and then having it basically always 40% off, they just priced it at $6, for example. They also ended their prices in solid dollars instead of $0.99 intervals to make it easier to calculate.
No coupons, no sales, but the same price. People always complain about how stuff gets marked up just to get put on sale and how cheap of a gimmick it is, right?
Well turns out people actually love feeling like they’re getting a deal even if they objectively know it’s just set dressing, and JCP lost millions from the strategy and their sales dropped by around a third.
Warrior Mama 2 years ago
Interesting! I used to work at JCPenney in college in the 90's and remember the line being out the door on certain sale days. Our registers always had the highest totals on those days - I can't believe the higher ups didn't notice this!
Stannous Flouride 2 years ago
Evidence, as if it was needed, of how little those at the top know what goes on in the trenches.
Load More Replies... Asher Tye 2 years ago
This hits me about the same as the 1/3 lb burger failing because customers insisted the 1/4 lb burger had to be bigger and thus a better deal.
Cyndielouwhoo 2 years ago
And people thought they wouldn't need math in every day life.
Load More Replies... Happy Homemaker 2 years ago
I actually wish that we did what other countries that have taxes do. They add their taxes on the price of the product so you know the exact cost. None of the price of everything you have, add the taxes on that, add all that together and hope your math is right when you get to the register.
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Casey Payne 2 years ago
Shopping as an addiction has to have the bells, whistles, triggers to get that rush. Otherwise it's just boring annoyance combined with exercise and mild socialization.
Heather W 2 years ago
This has backfird for so many retailers though. Apparently it's illegal to call it a sale if it never ends. Kid's clothing and accessories store had to make payouts to people. If you bought something but had no receipts, you got like a $20 voucher. If you had receipts you got a percentage of what you spent. My daughter got about $175 in stuff from there for Christmas that year because I had receipts.
Tim 2 years ago
Every once in a while, nothing is on sale and Kohls is ridiculously expensive. It lasts for like 2 days.
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Vicki Perizzolo 2 years ago
all of us look for 'the deal' - and some of us pay a lot of attention.. I KNOW stores are going to jack up the prices (or the mfr is making the box/can/jar smaller) when something goes on sale.. Staters is a fine example-- cereal and coffee.. no brainers...)
Untamed Snark 2 years ago
There's also the idea that a $6 shirt must be poor quality, but a $10 shirt reduced to $6 is a bargain.
#15
The Ford Pinto's propensity to explode when rear-ended.
And Ford making the business decision not to recall because their "cost benefit analysis" showed that lawsuits for injury would be cheaper.
Also, thalidomide.
Alexia 2 years ago
It was Frances Oldham Kelsey, a young pharmacologist who had just joined the FDA at the time, who rejected the application for marketing of thalidomide in US due to lack of safety data. She was backed by her boss at FDA and stood her ground despite all pressures. Thank you, Mrs. Kelsey.
Phillip Moderow 2 years ago
I remember it well because I was there when it happened. Ford wanted the Pinto to list at $1,999, but to do that, they had to drop the rear suspension caps that shielded the sharp ends that were in close proximity to the gas tank. Ford KNEW there would be explosions and horrible deaths, but they did it anyway because they reasoned that settling lawsuits was cheaper than adding those caps ... at $6 per Pinto. In the car business, we used to call them "Explodamobiles". I have never forgiven them for that.
Mrs Wuschwusch 2 years ago
Thalidomide was known in Germany as contergan. Approximately 4000 children in Germany as well as about 6000 children world wide were born with missing limbs. Only 50 % have reached adolescense .
Deborah Rubin 2 years ago
My first car was a Pinto, the exploding model. Didn't burn, luckily. Eight years later, it was totaled in accident totally not my fault - I wasn't moving - that should have killed me (according to the ER doctors).Say what you will about the Pinto, it saved my life.
John Leavitt 2 years ago
I bought a new 1974 Pinto (4 speed manual, sunroof, and 8-track) for $2,450.00. Made double payments and paid it off in a year. "A month later it was parked in front of my parents' home. It got hit from behind and totaled. It didn't blow up!
Spocks's Mom 2 years ago
Sounds like you got ripped off. The car should have instantly combusted.
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Your Local Forza Enthusiast 2 years ago
The slogan for the car was "Pinto: It leaves you with that warm feeling." Yeah, right. All you need to do get that "warm feeling" is get rear-ended. After that, full Pinto mode has been unlocked.
DelvianBlue 2 years ago
And now too many US conservatives are trying to undermine the FDA and undo its authority to say whether a drug is safe.
Gary Geracci 1 year ago
I owned a tow company during the "Pinto Scare' ,In over 80 rear end collisions we never had a fire-Go Figure?
#16
EMI Music executive telling the Beatles after their audition that EMI wasn't interested because guitar bands were on the way out?
Asher Tye 2 years ago
Funnily enough, the executive found himself "on the way out" shortly thereafter. /jk
Michael Largey 2 years ago
"Can't act Can't sing. Can dance a little. Balding." - Hollywood talent scout's description of Fred Astaire to his studio.
GFSTaylor 2 years ago
It ws a minor subsidary of EMI (Parlophone) that signed them. They had been turned down by other parts of the EMI group as well as Decca.
Load More Replies... Jeremy Bolanos 2 years ago (edited)
And here we are 61 years later, guitars are still popular and the Beatles play every day on the radio, XM, streaming...
Spooky Scary Skeletons 2 years ago
Eric Idle made a skit about this in his "Meet The Rutles" movie. The exec was played by Dan Aykroyd.
Trond Øien 2 years ago (edited)
The music business is filled to the brim with people like that. The examples are endless.
Bill Tinsley 2 years ago
"Stairway to Heaven?" Yeah... I'm not seeing it. Sorry guys it's a pass...
Joel Hopkins 2 years ago
A lot of execs back then thought that the new "Space Age Pop" was going to upstage Rock and Roll. Though Space Age Pop has largely disappeared, you can still hear it used in movies and TV scores today. Esquivel is one of the most popular artists. Go here to learn more: http://spaceagepop.com/
MyMindWanders 2 years ago
He told them to go back to Liverpool. I think they did ok, though. :-)
#17
When Game of Thrones botched the most anticipated episode in the series history of one of (the?) biggest shows in history by making it in borderline pitch black. Then explaining themselves by saying people need better TVs….[https://nypost.com/2019/05/01/game-of-thrones-cinematographer-blames-dark-episode-on-bad-tv-settings/amp/](https://nypost.com/2019/05/01/game-of-thrones-cinematographer-blames-dark-episode-on-bad-tv-settings/amp/)
General Anaesthesia 2 years ago
"You're holding it wrong" - Apple©™® about signal problems with the iPhone 4.
Riley Quinn 2 years ago
Not just GOT, but other shows/movies are too dark. And the audio is all off. Can barely hear what's being said, but the music blasts an eardrum. It's not our tv sets. It's you ninnies who aren't mixing properly.
Tyranamar Seuss 2 years ago
I now always run closed caption along with the sound. Makes watching so much better.
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Alicia M 2 years ago
I have never watched it, and really do not have any interest after everything I have heard. I stopped watching Stranger Things, which I liked, because of all the dark scenes. I don't want to have to struggle to see something that is supposed to be entertainment. It's not worth it.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
We just bought a brand spanking new 60” 4K UHD (2160p) Samsung Smart TV, and so many programs are STILL too f*****g dark to see anything. It’s not our TVs, Hollywood. It’s YOUR OTT overuse of Rembrandt lighting, ffs.
Miranda Veracruz de la Joya Cardenal 2 years ago
I'm a certified ISF picture calibrator. My 4k hdr tv was properly calibrated to the industry standards. This helped to see more dark shades on this episode but still was uncomfortable to watch. Increasing the brightness just washed off the colors.
DarkGlassSphere 2 years ago
Watched it on pc, never noticed anything wrong. But, I can understand. If you are creating smth and you feel it should be like this and not otherwise, it's hard to restrain. The cost of creative process.
Spittnimage 2 years ago
I hate it when scenes are done in the dark without lighting; you can't see anything.
#18
Can't believe the Hoover flights to America promotion from the early 90's hasn't come up yet. They offered a pair of return flights to America worth £600 if you spent £100 or more on their stuff. Turned out people thought £100 for a return flight with a free vacuum cleaner was a hell of a deal and it was a disaster that cost the company millions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_free_flights_promotion
Tee Rat 2 years ago
Perfect example of corporate greed and shadiness. Hoover tried to make the application process for the tickets difficult and found out their customers were smarter than they thought. Cost them millions and they never fully recovered. In the end the company was sold.
Id row 2 years ago
You can't fault their logic though. This is the country where the third pounder failed because people thought they were getting less than the quarter pounder. Doing business under the assumption that your customers are idiots would seem like a safe bet.
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Jill Bussey 2 years ago
I did this! Bought a Hoover vacuum cleaner. Had access to a fax machine at work and home. Telephoned all hours of day and night. I think they gave me the tickets just to shut me up. Had a great time in Florida.
Julie Arsmtrong 2 years ago
I did this too and also entered the Morrison lottery to get a Green card and got one. So did a lot of my friends. I lived in USA for 3 years, loved it!
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RoseAnne Hutchence 2 years ago
Marketing = gambling. Sometimes it works first time out the gate, but it's usually a trial-and-error type thing then graduall improves based on the dollar vote response from consumers.
Frederick Schulkind 2 years ago
Your promotion can never be worth more than what you are promoting. Otherwise, you get that.
#19
When U2 made us all have their album on our ipods.
Chewie Baron 2 years ago
What’s the difference between God and Bono? God doesn’t walk around Dublin thinking he’s Bono.
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Beautys solace 2 years ago
was in hospital to the time of this, the medical Ipads kept playing U2 at random times
Billy Harrelson 2 years ago
I know the feeling. I still have some music on my iPhone from my CD collection (still in the process of getting everything over to streaming). I'll delete that stupid album every few months but it just gets redownload to my phone every time.
Stephanie A Mutti 2 years ago
DANG RIGHT!!! I had no problems with U2,, liked them even. Then this mess and nothing I did could get it off my itunes. SO frustrating!!! And the gall to assume we were all just frothing at the mouth to get the latest album free bestowed upon us.
Jeremy Bolanos 2 years ago
Free stuff should be optional. People will literally rebel over free bread if you make them take it.
Aubrie Allen 2 years ago
My dude worked for apple tech support during this fiasco. He said they never had as many calls from angry people as they did then.
Phil Green 2 years ago
Thankfully, I have never had an iPod. I can't imagine what my friends would say knowing I had a copy of U2's excuse for music! I have a network Walkman, better sound quality, better looking and no annoying downloads.
Lisa Westerfield 2 years ago
I thought it was a nice gesture. It wasn't like people couldn't delete it.
#20
Gerald Ratner calling his own company’s (jeweller) products “c**p” and saying that “a prawn sandwich would last longer” than their earrings at a conference. The company’s value fell by £500m and he had to resign.
Hugh Cookson 2 years ago
I was so glad about this, met him several times at functions over the years and he was a vile, uncaring, greedy and ultimately, stupid scumbag. Sadly he managed to hang on to his millions whilst his ex employees were unemployed within a couple of months (oh, and to sort of top it, he and his board had been quietly helping themselves to the employees pension pot to prop up the company) Complete c**t.
nala simba 2 years ago
My wedding ring was from Ratners, 1971 wide, hand engraved, very heavy and very reasonably priced. Still beautiful, if much too small now. Shame he let down the company.
Riley Quinn 2 years ago
The Sultan of Bling will be remembered every time a gaffe is referred to as doing a Ratner.
#21
Trying to decide which was worse: Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal India that killed 4-8k people and injured maybe 100k, or Chiquita (under a former name) overthrowing the legitimate government of Guatemala with help from the CIA.
Sapna Sarfare 2 years ago (edited)
Bhopal Gas Tragedy was huge. If you want to know the impact, see the photo of a dead kid clicked by Raghu Rai.. it will haunt you forever
GlamourGhoul 2 years ago
I looked, and now...I'm so broken-hearted. But I feel like it was a necessary thing for me to see.
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ConstantlyJon 2 years ago
the banana republics are an absolutely insane topic of history that I only learned in adulthood. very conveniently skipped in history class.
Robin Roper 2 years ago
Both are horrible and are still causing huge problems. The US right calls Central American countries "$#!&hole" counties without acknowledging our role in the corruption on their leadership.
Boredest Disabled Panda 2 years ago (edited)
Considering the state of the United States right now they really shouldn't be throwing around that insult anyway. I am American, and we are pretty much a joke right now to other countries. Much of that is due to the antics of the right wing itself. Trump couldn't understand why people from "good" countries (read: white) didn't want to immigrate here. And yet it never occurs to conservatives that those other countries see the US as the "shithole" country because they are much better off in their own countries. But make the tiniest suggestion that we could maybe do some of the things that have made these other countries so successful, and you get labeled an America hater and a communist. Edit: Wow. Somehow my comment escaped the censors!
Load More Replies... David Wambold 2 years ago
The Wanggongchang Explosion. Explosion of a gunpowder factory in China in 1626 killed 20,000
Gustav Gallifrey 2 years ago
That was the cheapest coup ever. The CIA budgeted $5 million - $7 million, but the whole thing was done with only one payment of $225,000 to their client. So much was achieved by radio propaganda (supposedly from inside Guatemala, actually out of Florida), telling a lot of bull**** stories about how the 'rebels' were advancing, they've 'liberated' this place, soon be in that place. And a few bombs here and there from CIA planes.Government lost heart/resolve, president resigns. All over, red rover.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
One for its immediate impact, and the other for its long term implications.
Riley Quinn 2 years ago
I was going to go with Guatemala given the unrelenting violence, but the Bhopal site is still contaminated with toxic waste which has spread to over 40 areas and continues to grow.
Michael Largey 2 years ago
You can undo a coup with another coup. But the dead of Bhopal will stay dead.
#22
In the art field there are a lot of bad predatory software that people use (ahem adobe ahem) but one of the most well respected softwares was something called clip studio paint. It was single purchase and had amazing features and is something I personally still use. In the last year the company proceeded to go back on it's word and force you to get a subscription or pay several hundreds for a license, add ai art support (which if you don't know, ai art takes art from real artists for their samples which is a huge no no in the field), and most recently they are restricting offline access to paying customers and locking them out if they don't have a credit card on their account. Company went from having a huge loyal fanbase and one of the best reputations in the entire art field to losing everyone who supported them and now are having a piracy crisis which is encouraged by most artists
Pheebs 2 years ago
I miss the days when Adobe was a one-time purchase. Yeah, it was expensive, but last time I bought it I used the one install for the next 10 years.
Lara Starchild 2 years ago
I use Affinity, one time purchase and very similar to Adobe to use.
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I’mSoEmotional 2 years ago
I refuse to pay for any photo program that’s makes me sign up for a subscription.
somnomania 2 years ago
i still use photoshop cs5, re-torrented whenever i have to get a new computer! it works super well, does everything i need
Retro Dan™ 2 years ago
Except this isn't true. I use CSP, and while you CAN buy subscription use, they also offer permanent licenses. I have used this software since it was known as Manga Studio EX 4, and while major updates do require payment, I just paid about $45 to upgrade CSP 1 to CSP 2, saving about $350.
Maile 2 years ago
As an artist that has used CSP for years and still continues to do so, I was so disappointed with them. I spent $500 for a single-payment, and now look where we are... thankfully it still works for now, I'm just dreading the day it stops running on my PC and I can't update it. Also, apparently this is an unpopular opinion in the art community, but I don't think AI art is a bad thing. I use references and trace backgrounds and such often. Yes, it's not good to profit off of it, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it inherently, it's a useful tool for visualization and reference.
#23
The Victorian Taxi Association (Australian) had a 2015 social media marketing based around people sharing their good news stories of using taxis. It took a matter of days for it to be overwhelmed by the not-so-good stories. Turns out rather a lot of people had stories that ranged from hiked up fares and smelly taxies, to out-and-out sexual assaults by cabbies. All now being shared under the campaigns hashtag.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
That accounts for the smelly ones. Be careful what you feed your horse, especially if you and paying customers have to ride behind them!
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Lisa Westerfield 2 years ago
Much like Bill Cosby going to Twitter for promotion of a sitcom he was developing with NBC where he played a grandfather. He wanted the audience to meme him...it did not turn out well
Markus Holstein 2 years ago
The public transportation service of Berlin, Germany did the same a couple of years back - started a hash tag for customers to share their public transportation stories. The problem was, Berlin's public transport is notoriously crappy, so most of the stories were about delays and cancelled trains and buses
#24
Celebrities singing “imagine” at the beginning of the pandemic.
Lisa Westerfield 2 years ago
Of all the dumb things humanity does every hour, this wasn't it. I thought it was nice gesture.
The Original Bruno 2 years ago
Read the words to "Imagine." Basically boil down to "Imagine magically getting rid of everyone who doesn't think and act exactly like I dooooo" Billionaires singing about how wonderful it would be to get rid of all possessions when hundreds of millions of working-class people were thrown out of their jobs didn't exactly ring the genius bell, either.
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Pink Princess 2 years ago
This was honestly so dumb but I don't think the celebrities involved deserved so much hate. They had good intentions
Me 2 years ago
Agreed. Reminds me of when my grandmother was lying on the couch with a headache and needed a glass of water. I got a glass and filled it with water from the toilet bowl. Fortunately she heard me. ...3 years old with good intentions.
Load More Replies... Ben 2 years ago
Getting rich celebrities' signing from their beautiful mansions while everyone else was struggling in the middle of a pandemic was in my opinion moronic.
Petra Schaap 2 years ago
just because they're rich doesnt say they didnt suffer. A golden cage is still a cage. They too saw all their plans and project fall into pieces and feared for what was coming.
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RedMarbles 2 years ago
Hey, just to add something positive to this comment section, I just remembered the existence of the recreation of The Princess Bride by multiple actors during the lockdown. Filmed in bits in the actors' backyards, with costumes made from household items. It's hilarious if you're a fan of the movie. A much better idea than the Imagine video and I don't think it pissed anyone off. It reminded me of what my friends and I might have done as kids. Seriously delightful. Some of the Inigos were truly fantastic too.
similarly 2 years ago
The BBC did a couple songs that had a bunch of celebrities. One was the "Live Lounge AllStars" covering The Foo Fighters' "Times Like These". The other, my favorite, by the BBC Radio 2 AllStars" for the Children in Need charity covered Oasis' "Stop Crying Your Heart Out". I thought both of these were great. But I think one big difference is that these were musicians who, even when singing at home had great sound setups, many of them played instruments, and the editing was phenomenal.
Tyke 2 years ago (edited)
and they weren't singing in lockdown from their mansions in a patronising manner to the "poor public", some in dire situations
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Fabian Bernard 2 years ago
People clapping medics and nurse in France at 8 am, then voting for people who cuts health and hospital costs. And these elected complain now that ''no one wants to work at the hospital anymore '' after broken promises done when sending them a SOS during the pandemic
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
When the real world spills over your community’s gates, and you don’t know how to react like a person who lives in the real world would. Trying to make it seem like we’re all in this pandemic together, by singing a song on the Internet from your mansion while you don’t have to work because you have enough money in the bank to live off of for several decades, is not only out of touch, it’s low key cruel to those of us who lost or had to leave jobs and wonder how in the flying f**k we were going to pay our bills because of the pandemic.
Sapna Sarfare 2 years ago
there was a funny thing in India where a few celebs (aka movie stars) were posting their home exercise video. finally it took a member of their circle to call them out funnily...
Riley Quinn 2 years ago
Give it a rest. They weren't be hateful or malicious. Just a bit overenthusiastic and bad timing.
Jude Corrigan 2 years ago
Posting a video from your mansion whilst being out of work, is a little different to not knowing where your next meal is coming from because your workplace is closed.
Load More Replies... #25
There was a diet product called "Ayds" before the sound-alike disease. Not at all a blunder, but an unforeseeable, unrecoverable disaster.
The Original Bruno 2 years ago (edited)
https://as1.ftcdn.ne...b3BBQf31nrc.jpg
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Phyllis Turbin 2 years ago (edited)
These were out before AIDS. I used to steal these from my mom because I thought they were real candy. This was in the '70's.
LittleWombat 2 years ago
Same here!! They sure got screwed over when the disease was named!
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Ceph Alopod 2 years ago
There was a blunder on there part because they absolutely refused to rebrand
Hugh Cookson 2 years ago
Had a friend who started a project management company up in Oxford (UK) called ISIS ; with the company logo being ' Isis, we get things done'. Just before the Isis nutcases in the Middle East kicked off. Needless to say the phone was very quiet for a while (I must explain that the river Isis, a tributary of the Thames runs through Oxford and there are / were many businesses with an Isis prefix. Thankfully he rebranded and it's all worked out well.
Son of Philosoraptor 2 years ago
Mom had those!! They were actually pretty tasty when you're little.
Erik Biesemeier 2 years ago
There was a pilot for a mobile payment service called Isis right around the time the extremist group gained attention; I think they rebranded as Zelle.
#26
I still remember when Dr. Pepper thought they could a) market a specifically 10 calorie soda and b) do so with the slogan "It's Not For Women"
I mean this was 2011, the idea of feminism and antisexism was by no means obscure or fringe. The whole marketing campaign was so bizarre I wonder how on earth a large marketing team looked at blatant, unapologetic sexism and went "yeah sounds great this will sell us lots of soda for sure"
Fenchurch 2 years ago (edited)
Nestle were at it in the UK, with a chocolate bar - "The Yorkie bar is famous in the UK for its former tag line: "It's not for girls." Nestlé first launched the slogans "Don't feed the birds," "Not available in pink," and "King size not queen size" in 2002" The chocolate had an icon of a woman, like on a toilet door, crossed out, on the packaging.
Satan 2 years ago
Well, it's Nestle, so they deserve whatever's coming to them.
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Alicia M 2 years ago
Seems like it might have worked too because I've never known a woman who actually likes Dr Pepper. I understand some women do. I do not personally know any. I think it's it's disgusting. It's like someone tried to make cough syrup a soft drink.
Something 2 years ago
All the people I know who like Dr. Pepper are women, but I'm not a fan myself.
Load More Replies... Tyranamar Seuss 2 years ago
"Diet" was viewed as a drink for women. So now things are labeled "zero" to also target a male audience.
Billy Harrelson 2 years ago
Funnily enough, they still sell Dr Pepper Ten. It's called zero sugar now. Just like Pepsi zero was Pepsi one and before that it was Pepsi max.
Julie Snelling 2 years ago
We have Pepsi Max in the UK is it not called that in America?
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Arian Arian 2 years ago
The reverse of a mistake that GM made in Russia in the end of the 90s. They made a promotional video for Blazers presenting it like a family car with a whole family (kids, a commanding mom and a MIL and a very humble and downtrodden husband at the wheel). The problem is that all-terrains are traditionally considered "macho" cars in Russia. One of the classic examples of not understanding the country you are in.
AnonymousApple 2 years ago
I can't believe so many companies are still so oblivious as to gender products that have absolutely zero need to be gendered. It's not even about being "woke" or PC, it's that it just looks stupid at this point. No one needs a pen "for her," or a pink screwdriver because women will apparently only buy things that are color-codered to their private bits. Likewise, how infantilizing is it for men that companies think they need to macho everything up? How hardcore do you think men's candles and deoderant really need to be? And why is there camo all over everything?
#27
[U.S. Army tweets, "How has serving impacted you."](https://www.npr.org/2019/05/27/727254720/a-u-s-army-tweet-asking-how-has-serving-impacted-you-got-an-agonizing-response). I actually learned about this one watching it unfold in real time on Reddit.
Satan 2 years ago
"My wife slept with 20 guys, and I'm now afraid of fireworks" - to quote one Reddit user I remember.
Erin Ward 2 years ago
Was it really a fail though? As a veteran, I can tell you, these stories need to be heard. Whether it went how the army meant it to or not, people need to know
Dodo 2 years ago
It was a definite fail for the Army, but you're right that people needed to hear the stories.
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Old Roadie 2 years ago
From my vet friends: fatal cancer from toxic Agents Orange and Red, malaria, deafness, PTSD, missing body parts, nightmares, scars, unemployability, ruined relationships l.
MurderMittens 2 years ago
My husband can't donate blood now since they shot him up with all kinds of garbage during Desert Storm.
nbfresh 2 years ago
interesting. my grandfather is passed now, but back in the 1940s, the US Army was testing biological warfare in Fort Detrick, MD and he was one of their 'guinea pigs.' He said they would just 'shoot them up with something (they never knew what) and then take them out to the bar' afterwards. i have often wondered what, if any, side effects might have occurred, had he lived longer. sending kindness to your husband and to you.
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Jonny Wilson 2 years ago
For me it impacted me by ruining my physical and mental health for the rest of my life
#28
One of the movie directors for the Flash movie basically said " This movie will be so AMAZING you'll forget about all the things Ezra Miller did."
Fire Singer 2 years ago
I am shocked they are still allowed to portray this character, or are hired for anything for that matter.
Load More Replies... Isa's left eye 2 years ago
For those wondering what they did, this article caught me up: https://people.com/movies/ezra-miller-controversy-timeline/
Wysteria_Rose 2 years ago
Thank you so much for this. I tried looking up what they had done but nothing else seemed as straightforward. And WOW. I was expecting like one or two incidences but good lord, 2022 was a busy year for them.
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Rebekah 2 years ago
I found him fabulous in The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
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TotallyNOTaFox 2 years ago (edited)
I think Hollywood is too disconnected from the people nowadays. They produce way more bad PR than actual entertainment.
Billy Harrelson 2 years ago
I don't much care for the guy, but I want to see the movie because they brought back Micheal Keeton's Batman.
kesunyian 2 years ago
I will wait until someone replaces Ezra Millar with Grant Gustin using AI, then I'll watch it..
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Lara Verne 2 years ago
Well, with statement like that, he make everyone remember what Ezra Miller did.
Isa's left eye 2 years ago
I really hope they were telling the truth about getting help, but I know it's likely not true. Still wouldn't make up for all they did.
AnonymousApple 2 years ago
One thing that bothers me a lot about them getting a pass with this sh*t is that homophobes latch on to this sort of thing to denigrate the entire LGBTQ+ community, trying to imply we're all pedophiles/deviants, and that we don't hold our own community members accountable when they've done something wrong. Every queer person I know is disgusted by Miller's behavior and the fact they haven't seemed to suffer any consequences career-wise.
Doctor Strange 2 years ago
Marvel - hires actors like Chris Evans who helps clean up after shoots, Tom Holland who still goes to visit kids in his costume. DC - hires actors like Ezra Miller, Jared Leto, Amber Heard... Even IF Dc made decent movies, I'd STILL support Marvel over them.
#29
Gillette's toxic masculinity commercial. They lost over 8 billion dollars because they directly attacked their target audience. Good idea
Lama 2 years ago
Great idea actually. Maybe not commercially, but making a big statement like that, taking responsibility by using your huge coverage in media, to spread a message of change and respect, absolutely brilliant. It didn't "attack" men, certainly not all men. It called them to action, to hold each other accountable, to teach their boys to be kind humans. If you felt attacked by this, you might have been part of the problem, you might have been the one they were calling to change and reflect. - Which doesn't mean you were a bad person, just that there was still an opportunity to grow!
Ms.GB 2 years ago
I guess they didn't count on there being so many people still subscribing to toxic masculinity...which is kinda stupid because that's WHY it's such a huge problem.
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Tara Moov 2 years ago
Did an "alpha male" write this entry? It took absolute guts to do what Gillette did. I admire their bravery in challenging something ingrained in society a lot more than I admire men whining about switching razor companies as a result (they got a new customer in this female out of it. Love their Pro Glide!)
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago
Weeeellll, I'm presumably their target audience - being a man with a chin - and I can honestly say that I didn't give a f**k about this campaign. Maybe if you want to represent yourself as a "man's man" you should work on being less of a crybaby.
Potato 2 years ago
And here I thought Gillette also made razors designed for women...
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Thom Serveaux 2 years ago
If you feel "directly attacked" by someone calling out bad behavior, maybe listen? I always feel so sad for people who think their masculinity is under attack by something like this. Grow up.
B.Nelson 2 years ago
Really? Because I liked the commercial. Also funny that people don't realize they make razors for people other then men.
Ms.GB 2 years ago
Oh yeah, I always buy men's Gillette razors. Pink razors aren't sharp enough and they cost more.
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Casey Payne 2 years ago
Well who would've guessed that a bunch of men old enough to shave would throw a temper tantrum because a commercial asked them to grow up and be better? To be men, in other words. Sorry Gillette. It looks like everyone wanted to remain boys and never grow up. Sad. I think Peter Pan is a horrible role model and the most annoying immortal. (Immortality before puberty - yuck.)
Sergio Bicerra 2 years ago
Just saw it, and that may be the best 8 million dollars lost, such a brave statement, really, and lets hope poeple got the message.
Celesta 2 years ago
Gillette CEO even publicly said that taking a stand was word the lost profit.
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sofacushionfort 2 years ago
And then the price comparison between Gillette men’s vs women’s razors was brought to our attention
JM 2 years ago
Pink Tax! Complete BS. I just use the cheaper "men's" razors. Its. The. Same. Damn. Product.
Load More Replies... #30
James Corden thinking that doing an AMA on Reddit would go any other way than it did
nbfresh 2 years ago
i liked him when he appeared on Doctor Who; then he kind of became insufferable
Dodo 2 years ago
That's the funny thing, I hated him before Doctor Who but I loved him in it. Since then, back to hate. Idk why.
Load More Replies... Pink Princess 2 years ago
Omg I remember reading the AMA a few days ago! It was truly a big mess
Jean Thompson 2 years ago
Well, he did co-write 'Gavin and Stacey' - one of the best comedy-dramas ever.
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DetongLhamo 2 years ago
The man’s an idiot. Why some people find him amusing completely escapes me.
#31
The BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion was pretty bad on many levels. One of the largest environmental disasters in history.
Satan 2 years ago
I've been browsing this site for too long, all I saw was the Bored Panda Deepwater Horizon explosion.
The Original Bruno 2 years ago
BP's oil rig disaster worked PERFECTLY. BRITISH petroleum killed off the largest AMERICAN oil field.
Asher Tye 2 years ago
That it showed off just how little they kept their procedures up to date was mindboggling. I remember it was reported they had tried to contact an employee who was not only not with the company anymore, but had actually shuffled loose the mortal coil, they'd just never bothered to update the contact information.
#32
Bud Light pissing off both sides of a stupid culture war. Instead of backtracking, they could have said nothing, and conservatives would have moved on to the next stupid thing they get triggred by.
Chewie Baron 2 years ago
I’ve gotten drunker off water compared to Bud Light.
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PcktFox 2 years ago (edited)
And now, because they caved and backtracked, the right wingers know that their behavior *works*. Look how they instantly went after Target. Pretty sure I saw a headline just today of them taking aim at another company too (but I have the memory of a goldfish so the name is refusing to come to me). This is only going to get worse. ETA: it's Chick-fil-a of all things, and the crazy right wingers are incensed that the company has Chief Diversity Officer... that they've had for TWO YEARS.
Dan Holden 2 years ago (edited)
It really shows their true colors though, doesn't it? Of all the things in their country that they could choose to protest and make a big deal out of (starving children, homeless vets, etc, etc....), they choose a trans person on a beer can.
Load More Replies... Potato 2 years ago
Tried to be inclusive by adding a demographic, ended up losing both demographics. It made sense at first because they were marketing to younger people and a LOT of college students drink Bud Light bc it's cheap. A lot of college students are pretty liberal. But whatever interest they got from them was lost when they rejected that base, and the type of people who boycott aren't the forgiving sort. No sympathy. Drink local craft beer!
Dan Holden 2 years ago
You had me at "local craft beer". So many mom and pop operations all over North America that make a quality product. There's no reason to give our money to these giant corporations anymore.
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Old Roadie 2 years ago (edited)
What? ... the 'stupid trigger' was the disrespectful CARICATURE of women, the parody. I'm happy she was able to transition and fulfill her dream, and I fully support her right to do so, but that doesn't give her the right to demean other women.
Tamra 2 years ago
All the little names and phrases the conservatives come up with (libtard, democraps, wokies, let's go Brandon) make you all look like petulant children having a scrap at the playground. We laugh at you.
Load More Replies... Potato 2 years ago
Oh, so you think it's liberals that are triggered by Bud Light? That's hilarious!
Load More Replies... #33
Pepsi company offers a harrier jet fighter for 7 million Pepsi points, equaling to close to 700k when the jet itself costs about 30 million.
Nacho Man Sandy Ravage 2 years ago
Half decent documentary on Netflix about this called "Pepsi, Where's My Jet??"
Thegoodboi 2 years ago
A fighter jet?? A FIGHTER JET CAPABLE OF VERTICAL TAKE OFF, NOT MENTIONING IT CAN HOLD BULLETS AND EXPLOSIVES?? "Well, since you put it that way. Maybe we shouldn't..."
SadieCat17 2 years ago
They never technically offered it, but they forgot a disclaimer in an advertisement and someone took advantage. The netflix doc isn't too bad.
Con O Cuinn 2 years ago
Didn't pepsi have a load of military equipment from a weird trade deal with Russia? Maybe they thought they could make money off them that way
Greg Sheldon 2 years ago
Watch the Netflix show. They never intended on giving away a Harrier jet
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#34
Captain Edward Smith's decision to steam Titanic full-speed at night into a field of icebergs because he didn't want to disappoint investors by being late to New York must be regarded as one of the worst corporate decisions in history. What made it so terrible is that on the surface it didn't seem entirely unreasonable. It was a clear night, and Titanic should be nigh unsinkable anyway. But this was the ship's maiden voyage, the crew wasn't used to the ship, the view from the bridge was quite poor, a ship that large doesn't turn quickly, and the captain left less experienced officers on the bridge while he went to enjoy a private party. All of which resulted in a bit of a PR blunder for the White Star Line.
TotallyNOTaFox 2 years ago
There were also several other factors in play, like the bolts at the front bow being softer or the decision to dodge the iceberg instead of ramming it head on (less sections being damaged that way)
les 2 years ago
small matter of already burning before it left belfast too, in fact the area where the boat broke is the same spot that was burning and heat weakens steel and iron
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Five Years 2 years ago
The Titanic cost 200 million to build but the movie made 2 billion so ...you could make ten Titanics. But then there was the collateral damage of dead people. What's the unit cost of that?
Vicki Cunningham 2 years ago
I read someone other than the captain was forcing the full-speed.
#35
Powell Motors creating The Homer. Forbes dubbed it "the blunder of the century".
OhnoI’vebeencensored 2 years ago
Hey I love that car. Separate sound-proof bubble for the kids - genius.
Cyber Returns 2 years ago
Our car has a soundproof area. It's called outside
Load More Replies... Stannous Flouride 2 years ago
in 2013 someone made a real Homer out of an '87 BMW Screen-Sho...2c-png.jpg 
Hugh Cookson 2 years ago
Not quite in the same league as it was a concept car that made it to preliminary production, but Jaguar announced it was starting tests on making a new model called the 'Growler' ; market research was fine in the US, sadly not in the UK as a growler in the vernacular is slang for the females lady bits - why, I have no clue, but just the mention of being enveloped in a fast, comfortable Growler was enough to start off an evening of rudeness !!
Rahul Pawa 2 years ago
Can we get more context for those of us who have never heard of this company?
Potato 2 years ago
It's an episode from The Simpsons (long running US tv show). Someone was trying to be funny.
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#36
Coca Cola tried releasing a bottled water product in the UK called Desani which went terribly. People in the Uk expected bottled water to be spring mineral water. Coca-cola’s water was bottled local water. Even though it wasn’t malicious, the public essentially thought it was a scam. Basically Coca-Cola didn’t realise that the Uk public wouldn’t accept bottled tap water.
Susy Drizel 2 years ago
Always nice coming home from travelling around the UK to my hometown tap water.
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A. HAM 2 years ago
Desani is still sold everywhere in the US, despite almost everyone hating it. Also, at least half of bottled water sold in the US is “purified drinking water”, aka, local tap water purified via reverse osmosis.
Fenchurch 2 years ago
Hence the poster stating how badly it bombed in the UK. We have clean drinkable tap water everywhere. Why would we pay coke for some? We also have actual mineral water, that is water which has been filtered over millennia through rocks, which is also freely available if you live in the right areas.
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liam newton-harding 2 years ago
It was also released at a time when a beloved TV show, "Only Fools, and Horses" had an episode on repeat, about a couple of grifters releasing their own bottled (tap) water, that was so contaminated, you could use it as a flashlight, it glowed so brightly.
Wondering Alice 2 years ago
To all the Brits saying people in the UK don't buy bottled water, that just not true. Sure our tap water is safe to drink, but loads of people are not fond of their local taste. I buy bottled water, and given every supermarket stocks plenty, I'm not alone. I use a filter jug for cooking and hot drinks. I would be very miffed if I thought I was getting water and it turned out to be fizzy spring water, I don't think the OP speaks for everyone in UK. I have never heard of the coke brand of water, we have such a good selection already, possibly people like to know where the water is coming from. I have lived in parts of UK with lovely tasting tap water, then obviously I just drunk that.
Budcot 2 years ago
Spring water means from a spring, I think you're getting confused with sparkling? And yes, I buy bottled water if I am out and already drank what I brought with me, or if someone has a stomach bug I use it for them.
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Natty Tempest 2 years ago
Top off with the only fools and horses episode doing the same thing...
Alexej Dvorak 2 years ago
Coca Cola did the same in Germany with a product called Bonaqa. They had to call it table water because it was just bottled carbonated tap water, but it still was on the market for 30 years. I actually remember trying it when it was still rather new, and surprisingly it tasted not too bad. But I guess that was due to the fact that there was a Coca Cola factory in my town and we have outstandingly good water quality.
Petra Schaap 2 years ago
Apart from it BEING a scam, it tastes horrible. Sometimes in the US you're at places that only sells that water and im not gonna drink from a tap at the bathroom. Not gonna pay 4 bucks for a bottle of tapwater either. Its so stupid.
#37
So this came from a U.S. state instead of a company, but it was such a masterpiece of P.R. failure that Id argue it qualifies. The U.S. m**h epidemic hit the midwest and south especially hard, and South Dakota's situation was particularly bad per capita. Their genius idea to try to mitigate some of the damage to tourism (yes, there are actually people dumb enough to go there willingly, I was shocked too) and commerce was to put out an ad campaign assuring people they were addressing the issue. The slogan they landed on? "M**h, we're on it"
Jane Doe 2 years ago
yes. If I wasn’t familiar with this story, I would not have guessed M E T H. BP is ridiculous with this. “read this story!!” no. no that part.
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LooseSeal's $10 Banana 2 years ago
Why the hate for people who go to SD. The Badlands and Custer State Park are beautiful. Well worth the trip.
Michelle H 2 years ago
Because yeah, Meth We're on it....Thanks Noem. And the great ad agency from Minnesota because apparently their wasn't a talented ad agency in her own state.
Alicia M 2 years ago
Noem is a disgusting, corrupt individual. However, I can't talk too much because I live in Indiana, and my state is no better. I'm SO wanting to get out.
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#38
Wizards of the Coast and the open gaming license earlier this year. Worst handling ive seen. Literally caused dozens if not hundreds of companies to pull away from creating content for the company to making new games that will directly compete with them while alienating their fans at the same time.
similarly 2 years ago
This one is a fiasco for WotC and Dungeons & Dragons. A lot of players, as well, have been looking for alternatives to D&D over their handling of this issue.
BannedFromABoatShow 2 years ago
Other rpg systems sold out their yearly stock within days. Good for them.
#39
The Pepsi Number Fever promotion in the Philippines went really terribly! They basically never recovered in the market there. It’s really interesting actually! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepsi_Number_Fever
LesAnimaux 2 years ago
There's a documentary on Netflix called 'Pepsi, where's my jet?' that touches upon this subject. I wonder if I'll spot the Jet mess-up further down this list.
two-sided llama 2 years ago
i think thats a different pepsi mess up this one is about where they printed bottle caps with numbers on them and each day one number would be the winning number and if you got it you got money and they accidently printed lots of caps with the winning numebr whihc resulted in lawsuits and angry filipinos
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#40
Subway spokesperson turns out to be a paedo.
A. HAM 2 years ago
As seen elsewhere on BP: He went from a mild cholesterol problem, to a child molesterol problem.
Seabeast 2 years ago
To be fair, they couldn't have known he was like that before they hired him.
KittyMommy 2 years ago
Not at first, no. But I've seen a crime show talking about it, and they knew for years and did nothing but cover for him
Load More Replies... Java Addict 2 years ago
Saw a documentary on YouTube, he was so much sicker than the general public knew.
Phyllis Turbin 2 years ago
The ID channel had a mini series on this. You really need to shower after watching it. 😣
Jude Corrigan 2 years ago
If anyone wants to watch,there is a documentary on Discovery + about him.
#41
SEGA's North American advertisement department not advertising the SEGA Dreamcast. Now Sonic the Hedgehog, who was ironically created to be the anti-Mario mascot, now makes Nintendo richer. The Dreamcast would have sold so much better had people been aware it even existed.
Thegoodboi 2 years ago
My cousins had a Dreamcast. We played Sonic dawn till dusk whenever I would visit back in the good ol days
#42
Back in the 90s Hormel Foods went on a Cease & Desist spree against anyone who was making jokes about Spam because they felt the brand had been damaged and needed to be rebuilt. The last straw was when they threatened to sue Jim Henson Studios over the character Spa'am in Muppet Treasure Island. That turned people against them pretty quick. It turns out if you want to rebuild your brand in the public eye, suing one of the most beloved entertainment franchise of two generations was a bad way to go about it. Eventually the dropped all the C&D stuff and changed their marketing strategy, instead deciding to lean into it and proclaiming that there are always going to be jokes about Spam so they might as well be in on them.
Josiane Roy 2 years ago
Sounds like they tried to go on the Disney bandwagon without the Disney coffers.
Five Years 2 years ago
Hormel should have added a thin little mint with each can of SPAM....oh wait.
#43
Kodak shunning digital photography
Suzy Creamcheese 2 years ago
Kodak actually marketed the first commercially available digital camera system in 1991. Aimed at professional photojournalists, the system was based on a modified Nikon F3 and was offered in several different configurations. It had a resolution of 1.3 megapixels and sold for $20,000.
Christof Irran 2 years ago
OK, so we had Kodak twice, but nobody so far mentioned Xerox and their computer operating system that they just abandoned and let Steve Jobs and Bill Gates steal it instead. Neither Steve Jobs' nor Bill Gates's companies would have survived without Apple OS and Windows, respectively.
Christof Irran 2 years ago
BTW Steve Jobs complained that Microsoft's Windows technology was stole from him, and Bill Gates said something to the effect of: if you rob a house and pile the loot on the front lawn and I come along and take a TV from your pile, you can't claim that I stole it from you.
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Snakebite Mcghee 2 years ago
I worked for Qualex a Kodak subsidiary, we did the developing, and it killed us, within a few years they shutdown
#44
Currently on r/games: Don Mattrick and his disastrous Xbox One reveal event in 2013. A tone-deaf presentation almost devoid of actual games in favor of "TV! TV! TV! SPORTS! TV!"...capped with always online requirement, restricted game sharing, and Mattrick himself saying if you want an offline console, get an XBox 360. Sony capitalized hard on this PR disaster, receiving standing ovations for announcing very basic console functionalities one would expect: no online check-in, buy and share/sell physical game copies, etc, in addition to a short cheeky game sharing commercial. Plus the PS4 launched at $100 less than the X1. The XBox brand was ruined and is still trying recovering today.
Billy Harrelson 2 years ago
I think the controversy around the Xbox One launch was what drove me away from the brand. That and they didn't have a decent baseball game anymore (Sony had the exclusive rights at the time). But, on the flip side, the console makers are starting to "encourage" you to switch to digital with these lower priced digital versions of their consoles.
Adam Belaire 2 years ago
Of course, the games themselves are the same price, physical or digital. Can't lower that price because there is no manufacturing, distribution, and no additional cost the store puts on it to make money.
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AndThenICommented 2 years ago
This reminds me of Bob Chepak (sp?) wanting to focus on ESPN and online gambling and gouge Disney visitors
Ceph Alopod 2 years ago
Unfortunately the downside of this is that Sony is now actively throwing tons of money at devs to keep games off of Xbox and PC, and not just first party games, a lot of shifty stuff came up during the attempted purchase of actiblizzard
#45
Harry and Meghan (hides under table). It seems like they had the whole world at their feet but every move they make is read by the public as wrong, demanding, spoilt etc. They’re darned if they do and darned if they don’t at this stage. ETA: their PR has been a disaster from start to finish
VonBlade 2 years ago
"We're sick of the press intrusion, let's renounce our royalty, go to the US, still claim to be princes and go on ALL the talk shows".
RedMarbles 2 years ago
I don't read it as attention-seeking but as an attempt to explain themselves, which under the circumstances seems reasonable.
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Donna Peluda 2 years ago
All he had to do is to stay of drugs, cut a few ribbons here and there I live with his feet up playing second fiddle to his brother.
Alicia M 2 years ago
What's wrong if they didn't want that life though? The royal family denying Megan a psychiatrist when she was suicidal, because of how it would "look" pretty much sealed my opinion of the royals.
Load More Replies... Wondering Alice 2 years ago
To be fair, if you are taking about cousins of the queen, it was rare in those days for anyone with a mental disability to be treated well. I seriously doubt it would happen today. Andrew is a different matter, I think the cover ups there are largely due to the fact the ladies concerned were by British law above the age of consent. Utterly disgusting though.
Load More Replies... Alicia M 2 years ago
There is no reason they should have been attacked for wanting a different life. It's not like Harry was ever going to be king. Regardless of your personal opinion, they have the right to live their lives the way they want. I don't get into all the gossip and tabloid garbage, so if you have some opinion regarding anything that you've read, I don't care to hear it. It's garbage.
Michael Largey 2 years ago
The only royal worth paying attention to was Diana - because she never acted like a royal.
RedMarbles 2 years ago
Isn't that what Harry has emulated in getting away from it? I think it's very possible given what is publicly known about her that she would have approved of the steps Harry took to protect himself and his wife.
Load More Replies... #46
Two stick out. IBM deciding they would not write the operating system for PCs. Hello Bill Gates. Digital Equipment Corp (DEC) was a huge player in main frame computers. Mr Olsen, it's CEO said we are not going to make home computers. No one is going to want a computer in their house. So never believe everyone all the time.
Robert T 2 years ago
Can't remember the name, but I remember a quote relating to one of the first computers - "I can only see a need for maybe 2 or 3 computers in the world".
Vicki Doggurl 2 years ago
I’ve got 4 computers in my bedroom. Phone, tablet, laptop and desktop. Triple that for the house. Lol!
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Gabby Ghoul 2 years ago
The IBM PC project was unlike almost anything else at the company--the group had more autonomy and the ability to move quickly, bypassing the normally rigid approval processes. They needed an OS fast because IBM leadership considered personal computers a fad that would soon die out, so instead of writing an OS they bought one. Moreover, IBM considered itself a hardware company, software was a secondary concern.
Donna Peluda 2 years ago
Bill Gates once said that 250kb would be enough memory for the average household PC user.
Gabby Ghoul 2 years ago
He also once said he didn't think Microsoft would ever make a 32-bit OS.
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Seabeast 2 years ago
Way back in about 1985, a computer engineer that I was acquainted with said the same thing. ___ "I can't imagine what people will even do with a computer in their homes. Are they going to get recipes from it and bring it into the kitchen where it will get covered in flour?"
The Original Bruno 2 years ago
In fairness to IBM, the U.S. phone company monopoly had just been broken up. That phone company had invented the microchip in the first place.
Mtownmick 2 years ago (edited)
The real mistake was allowing MS to sell the operating system to other companies and not make it exclusive to IBM.
M O'Connell 2 years ago
I don't believe that was a mistake at all. Restricting MS-DOS to IBM machines only would have just resulted in a different dominant operating system. IBM PC sales paled in comparison to the sales of XT-clones made by hundreds of other companies. Very few individuals were going to be willing to shell out the money for real IBM hardware. They would have had a future similar to Apple, with only 8% market share.
Load More Replies... #47
VW diesel gate has to be up there. WTH were they thinking... lol.
Geoffrey Scott 2 years ago
A former Ford mechanic told me VW was not alone in cheating software.
Robert T 2 years ago
If you watch any of the "diesel claims" ads on UK TV, or on social media platforms, you will see that pretty much all brands were involved.
Load More Replies... les 2 years ago
ok hear me out. the vw dieselgate scandal wasn't really that bad. it is still cleaner than any us pick up no matter what fuels it.
JMil 2 years ago
Sure, but they (a conglomerate of auto manufacturers) should have gone about it the right way. Lobby congress/EPA to relax particulate standards in some cases, OR implement an existing method to reduce particulates (like ammonia spray the exhaust).
Load More Replies... The Original Bruno 2 years ago
Whaddayamean? VW still profited off of their scheme, even after billions in regulatory fines.
#48
That Pepsi and Kendal Jenner ad.
les 2 years ago
tldr; the ad simply said pepsi will stop race riots by having jenner walk through the middle of 2 sides with a pepsi
Load More Replies... Rizzo 2 years ago (edited)
I haven't heard of this person (she's not big with old Germans, obviously) so I had to watch the ad. It's awful. A mayfly model solves the worlds problems with a smile and a soda. Ridiculous.
GlamourGhoul 2 years ago
Watching her attempt to perform normal people things like cutting up produce was physically painful, but not this bad!
General Stukov 2 years ago
I don't know enough about robotics to talk on this topic but then again they are more like a crappy blow up doll.
General Anaesthesia 2 years ago
Maybe the obvious A(rtificiality) of the subject and the total lack of I(ntelligence) of said subject?
Load More Replies... #49
Squirrels are rats with good PR.
The Original Bruno 2 years ago
Rats big PR disaster? Repeatedly decimating global population. Squirrels WILL invade a home, but their diet is much more limited, so their reliance on food from outdoors means they don't exclusively LIVE indoors (even if their nest IS indoors) or grow to rely on human food.
#50
Nokia, once the biggest phone company in the world, failed to move with the times and switch to Android/smartphones.
James016 2 years ago
I've had a Nokia Lumia Windows phone and a Nokia 8 Android phone. Both were decent. The Nokia 8 had pure Android so no manufacturer bloat etc like Samsung
Fat Harry 2 years ago
Yep, as I posted elsewhere in this thread, the Nokia Windows phones were great.
Load More Replies... Christof Irran 2 years ago
I am not sure you'd agree, but this strikes me as another Betamax vs VHS case, where the superior system (Betamax) failed in favor of the cr@p VHS format. The Nokia Windows phone was great, and its interface and operating system much more attractive and faster than either Apple OS or Android. It also had a better antenna, and therefore better a signal even here on Fox Island where you can only use your Samsung or iPhone if you switch them to Wifi Calling mode. The cell towers here are obscured by old-growth timber, but that never presented a problem to my Nokia Lumina 520 Windows phone.
chloehamback7 2 years ago
Im on a Nokia. Yes, they are still here I was surprised when I saw it cause I remember my big sister being excited when she got hers back when they were indestructible bricks and i didnt know they still made them.
chloehamback7 2 years ago
Not the bricks. Im meant i thought the company went bankrupt or something.
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Caroline Nagel 2 years ago
I have a Nokia, it's 13 years old. I've dropped it hundreds of times and it still works. I will buy a smartphone only if and when my Nokia gives the ghost, not a minute sooner.
#51
Fyre Festival...poorly organized, no infrastructure...wire fraud charges.
#53
Three Mile Island’s little situation they had - the actual nuclear disaster wasn’t that bad, but the media coverage was. It’s been described by many as possibly the worst PR disaster in history.
Met-Ed had horrid communication with the plant during the media frenzy, and both Met-Ed and TMI had bad communication with the government, so everyone was saying things that contradicted each other with every word, pretty much.
Highly recommend the video by Kyle Hill as part of his series “Half Life Histories,” this video specifically goes in-depth into TMI: https://youtu.be/cL9PsCLJpAA
David H 2 years ago
It was actually a case where every safety feature worked properly, it prevented a disasters and special controlled released only gave people the exposure of half an x-ray worth of radiation. It showed that the safety features worked, but PR bungled it, the KGB went spreading via agents how "dangerous" it was to undermine US Nuclear industry (several former KGB agents who defected showed how much of the US anti Nuclear movement was being manipulated from Moscow, and why today we have so little zero emission nuclear energy but rather coal), and the public fear of nuclear at the time cause it to be perceived as a disaster
RedMarbles 2 years ago
And Russia is still affecting public opinion in the US in any way they can, in any way that will encourage destabilization, infighting, and economic downturn.
Load More Replies... Ryan Frundles 2 years ago
Just mentioning the Thor we already have at home, is enough to give this a like, and now I have a video to watch
#54
Target's expansion into Canada. Collapsed in 2 years and cost 7 billion. [https://archive.canadianbusiness.com/the-last-days-of-target-canada/](https://archive.canadianbusiness.com/the-last-days-of-target-canada/)
TotallyNOTaFox 2 years ago (edited)
Or Walmart's push to Germany - they failed gloriously because they thought they could just open stores here and do what they do in the US
The Scout 2 years ago (edited)
I shopped in a German Walmart once - just once - and found the experience to be utterly creepy. The fake smiles and hyped-up friendliness alone made me think I was imprisoned in a horror movie...
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Josiane Roy 2 years ago
Target in Canada was not affordable to their demographic. Their side tables and cabinets were about 200+ dollars. For products made by similar manufacturers as those sold by Walmart and other local hardware store. People preferred lower price to fancier design. Even at their closing sale the shelves were still pretty full.
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
The Australian hardware behemoth Bunnings entering the UK market and failing miserably because they thought what worked in Oz would work in the UK
#55
Apple Computer throwing away its position as the leader in computer games.
I know this is a bit before many people here were born, but the Apple II was the leader in terms of computer games from roughly 1977 to 1984. It was a great hobbyist computer, thus had a lot of the early computer games, many of which were influential and would create the companies and brands we know today, while the IBM PC (what we know as PCs today) was a computer for the corporate world.
Steve Jobs decided he wanted Apple to pivot from being seen as a hobbyist device which would play games (the horror!), and the Apple III actually put extra chips in the device to block functionality that was already there, so that many of the computer games would not run.
Donna Peluda 2 years ago
I've never understood the fascination people have with Steve Jobs and Apple, the guy was a b*****d. Never really made anything, outsourced the tech and treated staff like slaves, demining them and overworking them. Abandoned the mother of his child left her living on benefits while he mad millions. Real piece of S***
Beans 2 years ago (edited)
Let's not forget he also didn't believe in philanthropy. He and Apple have never given to charity afaik. But it's because people worship money. It's like Elon Musk, before the crazy. He was never a great guy, yet people loved him. Some people still do.
Load More Replies... Vicki Cunningham 2 years ago
I owned a graphic design firm starting in the 90s. We had two Macs and 4 PCs. Back then, to upgrade the OS on the Mac, you had to buy a whole new computer. Since much was becoming cross platform then, we trashed the Macs and I have never owned an Apple device of any kind since. Steve Jobs was an a**.
Jacques-Olivier NICOLAS 2 years ago
I started computing with an Amstrad CPC 464 (who remembers?) then on Mac Plus in 1988. And there I discovered programs that used the postscript language. I understood that it was becoming serious and professional and it definitely changed my job as a graphic designer. Incidentally, I also discovered a number of interesting games. And much later, I learned that there had been an Apple III… A stillborn machine.
BewilderedBanana 2 years ago
Considering Apple's position today, i'm not sure that would be considered a blunder
#56
"Do you guys not have phones?!?"- Blizzard
TotallyNOTaFox 2 years ago
"We will use this Diversity chart to create stories in the future" - Blizzard is a fountain of bad PR
Sergy Yeltsen 2 years ago
Only since they were bought out by Activision. I'm so old I can remember how good Blizzard were. And Bobby Kotick needs to be run over by a tank. Disgusting, revolting piece of filth he is.
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Passerby 2 years ago
Well, what I can tell you from my memory (which is pretty unreliable) is that people were angry that Blizzard made a game called Diablo Immortal exclusive to mobile phones. When fans showed their discontent because they expected a pc game, an employee said this infamous quote.
Load More Replies... #57
Well that schizophrenic guy who held up a Domino's because he thought the 'Avoid the Noid' commercials were directed personally at him pretty much killed the campaign
YTK 2 years ago
But was that a corporate blunder, or a reason schizophrenia meds should be free?
Jeff (He/They) 2 years ago
All meds should be free. But that'll never happen
Load More Replies... #58
Bowing 737 Max - two planes had crash before they admitted what had happened.
Donna Peluda 2 years ago
Boeing made a big blunder but the main issue was that the pilots hadn't been trained by the airlines on what to do if the system failed. They sent them a video instead of training in flight simulator.
Barbara Skolly 2 years ago
Even though its branded as a 737 it doesn't handle anywhere close to a 737. I believe keeping the 737 name meant pilots previous hours and training could be patched over easier, therefore good marketing to save the airlines money. Very sad all around. I flew on one recently and was nervous at first but then realized they have now been the most scrutinized and are now likely safer than ever.
Load More Replies... Christof Irran 2 years ago
Boeing was just lazy. When Airbus built the A320neo they completely re-designed the wings to accommodate the more powerful engines. Boeing did not; they tried the cheapo route so they just moved the engines further forward, and tried to compensate for the resulting rotational effect that would pitch the nose up and increase the angle of attack by installing software that pushes the nose back down, locking out pilot input, disallowing them to control the elevators once the MCAS kicked in. Dumb and lazy. Still dumb to this day; if they had done it right from the beginning they would have lost market share to Airbus, but not as much as they did by having the whole fleet grounded for so long.
Gabby Ghoul 2 years ago
Boeing was once a great engineering company before the McDonnell Douglas acquisition. It's been written that McDonnell Douglas bought Boeing using Boeing's own money and the company hasn't been the same since.
#59
AOL-Time Warner merger. Ted Turner told them it was a blunder at the time, but hey why listen to him.
#60
Pfizer wanted a word meaning "dog who takes RIMADYL". They came up with "[RimaDog](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.reutersevents.com/pharma/commercial/pfizers-rim-dog-raises-more-few-eyebrows)".
TotallyNOTaFox 2 years ago
I'm always surprised that there are several people within the creation progress that have to come up with that, proof read it, print and release it - and it still slips through
Frankthetank 2 years ago
Except that drug made billions before the patent expired, allowing generic drugs on the market. Not really a fail for them despite the stupid campaign.
Load More Replies... #61
Yahoo not buying Google!
Robert T 2 years ago
Or in the style of El Reg, "Yahoo! Not! Buying! Google!"
Load More Replies... #62
The [Atari E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial video game burial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_video_game_burial) is a big one
Vicki Doggurl 2 years ago
That was a weird game. We had it for the 2600 and of the nine people in my household (7 kids and parents) none of us knew how to play it.
#63
Xbox One's E3(?) announcement. It was basically a TV box, hardly any mention of video games, and who could forget the infamous "fortunately, we have a product for people who aren't able to get some form of connectivity, it's called Xbox 360."
#64
Ford Edsel Ford spend millions on marketing for that mid a*s car that almost nobody liked and it almost drove the company to an early death
Richard Graham 2 years ago (edited)
Fun fact: Experts estimate the Edsel cost Ford roughly $350 million in losses, or roughly $3,200 per vehicle sold. That is in the late 1950s, when the average person made about $5,100 a year, a new house cost $16,000, and rent was $90 a month.
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago
It was such a famous failure that Billy Joel mentions it in We Didn't Start the Fire.
Load More Replies... #66
The "Driver" tutorial level was so hard that many, many people were unable to even get past it. You had one minute to do a bunch of poorly explained tricks and it wasn't skippable.
VonBlade 2 years ago
It's a video game released around the same time as GTA3 where you played the titular driver. The tutorial was things like "do a J turn", "do a donut", "emergency stop" and the like, but apparently has become famous for how few people could do it, even though you'd need to live under a rock to not understand what the game wanted.
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Samantha Mannion 2 years ago
I had that game I don't remember alot about it but I don't remember the tutorial being crazy. I was also like middle school age so who knows lol. Too long ago for specifics but I remember liking the game and playing it quite a bit. That one and need for speed were my favorites lol
Josephine Blogs 2 years ago
I think they're talking about a game called "Driver" that came out in 1999 on the PS1. I wouldn't have said it was a corporate blunder though.
#67
Not sure how Samsung survived this: [2016 Note 7 Recall](https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2016/Samsung-Recalls-Galaxy-Note7-Smartphones)
Suzy Creamcheese 2 years ago
Probably because the media made it out to be worse than it actually was. The vast majority of Note 7 owners never had any problems with exploding batteries.
Rosie 2 years ago
Easy: 1) The fault was in the batteries, not the phones, & those were promptly dumped so no more fires. 2) They recalled *ALL* the Note 7s, replaced them w/newer models & released the next models faster. That killed any complains of customers feeling cheated or blamed for "not using the phones right". 3) I'm sure the people who actually had a fire got a nice settlement or we would still be hearing about it. That's all it takes to survive as a brand. It's when companies don't take responsibility that things ends up worse for them.
#68
EA Games Star Wars "Pride and Accomplishment" Reddit Post. Truly one the most inept PR posts. https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsBattlefront/comments/7cff0b/seriously_i_paid_80_to_have_vader_locked/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button https://kotaku.com/ea-received-a-guinness-world-record-for-most-downvoted-1837955807
nancy 2 years ago
Instead of posting links, just explain the context using a few sentences. I don't want to go to reddit and attempt to figure out what this is all about.
Bobby 2 years ago
EA had pretty much everything locked behind a pay wall for star wars battlefront(a game you already had to pay $60ish for) they made a response to customer dissatisfaction on reddit that became the most down voted comment of all time, 600k+ down votes, the next most down voted one is somewhere around 90k
Load More Replies... RedMarbles 2 years ago
Here's the comment: "The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes. As for cost, we selected initial values based upon data from the Open Beta and other adjustments made to milestone rewards before launch. Among other things, we’re looking at average per-player credit earn rates on a daily basis, and we’ll be making constant adjustments to ensure that players have challenges that are compelling, rewarding, and of course attainable via gameplay. We appreciate the candid feedback, and the passion the community has put forth around the current topics here on Reddit, our forums and across numerous social media outlets. Our team will continue to make changes and monitor community feedback and update everyone as soon and as often as we can."
#69
Surprised no one has mentioned the Bhopal disaster.
What do you think ?
TotallyNOTaFox 2 years ago
Would be cool if some of them had explainations instead of just links
Vicki Doggurl 2 years ago (edited)
Agreed! The links were useful for the posts that explained the story. The interesting ones I followed and now have a couple of rabbit holes to follow. But the posts with just the link and title I ignored. Obviously they weren’t intended to peak my interest. :)
Load More Replies...
The Original Bruno 2 years ago (edited)
Know you used to absolutely OWN the home computer market? Commodore. Then they ditched their own awesome next-generation computer in favor of buying up and selling to America, "Amiga" computers. They were great, but they offered no compatibility to billions of dollars of equipment Commodore customers had bought, so they basically swapped their own world-dominating brand for someone else's, and lost all customer trust in the meanwhile.
Dodo 2 years ago
Commodore 64 was my very first computer. Never actually knew what happened to the company.
Load More Replies... JL 2 years ago
Betty Crocker once had a TV ad (pre-internet) for a new time-saving dessert product, where the family is talking and the mom (who works full-time) says the product is "for moms like me, who have a life". Apparently someone realized that insulting every stay-at-home mom was not a good idea, and the next time I saw the ad, it was "for moms like me, who leave it to Betty." I can't imagine the blowback they'd have gotten if social media was around back then.
Hey! 2 years ago
Was it those boxes where you did the cake right in the pan without using a bowl?
Load More Replies... Blue Chambers 2 years ago
Anheuser Busch and Target? We are currently witnessing two massive PR disasters in real time and they aren't even going to mention them?
Hey! 2 years ago
Target tried to come to Canada. They lasted a year, then went back home in the USA. Bad PR and bad management, not offering what Canadians wanted (i.e. good prices and quality).
Load More Replies... Vicki Doggurl 2 years ago
There was an advertising campaign for a brand name hemorrhoid cream which featured Johnny Cash singing Ring of Fire. Clever in a horrible way!
Powerful Katrinka 2 years ago
A very recent PR disaster? DeSantis's announcement of his entry into the presidential race. First, a strange "interview" on Twitter that was largely incomprehensible. Second, a bizarre video in which Elon Musk is on the screen about 80% of the time instead of DeSantis,
Suna Amun 2 years ago
Don't waste your time trying to read this list, it doesn't load all the way. With the censorship, duplicate posts and just general shîïtiness of this site, I wonder why people even try to come here anymore.
Matthew Thompson 2 years ago
Yeah, it suddeny changed from 69 entries to 30 entries whole I was in the list. I restarted the app and 30 entries had suddeny bern truncated.
Load More Replies...
Beans 2 years ago (edited)
Unpopular opinion but I really dislike snarky corporate Twitters like Wendy's and stuff. I know everyone freaking loves them and thinks it's a huge PR win, but if you gotta throw shade and put down your rivals to get interest then imo you're doing it wrong. Your product should speak for itself. It just feels gimmicky and cringe to me.
TotallyNOTaFox 2 years ago
Would be cool if some of them had explainations instead of just links
Vicki Doggurl 2 years ago (edited)
Agreed! The links were useful for the posts that explained the story. The interesting ones I followed and now have a couple of rabbit holes to follow. But the posts with just the link and title I ignored. Obviously they weren’t intended to peak my interest. :)
Load More Replies... The Original Bruno 2 years ago (edited)
Know you used to absolutely OWN the home computer market? Commodore. Then they ditched their own awesome next-generation computer in favor of buying up and selling to America, "Amiga" computers. They were great, but they offered no compatibility to billions of dollars of equipment Commodore customers had bought, so they basically swapped their own world-dominating brand for someone else's, and lost all customer trust in the meanwhile.
Dodo 2 years ago
Commodore 64 was my very first computer. Never actually knew what happened to the company.
Load More Replies... JL 2 years ago
Betty Crocker once had a TV ad (pre-internet) for a new time-saving dessert product, where the family is talking and the mom (who works full-time) says the product is "for moms like me, who have a life". Apparently someone realized that insulting every stay-at-home mom was not a good idea, and the next time I saw the ad, it was "for moms like me, who leave it to Betty." I can't imagine the blowback they'd have gotten if social media was around back then.
Hey! 2 years ago
Was it those boxes where you did the cake right in the pan without using a bowl?
Load More Replies... Blue Chambers 2 years ago
Anheuser Busch and Target? We are currently witnessing two massive PR disasters in real time and they aren't even going to mention them?
Hey! 2 years ago
Target tried to come to Canada. They lasted a year, then went back home in the USA. Bad PR and bad management, not offering what Canadians wanted (i.e. good prices and quality).
Load More Replies... Vicki Doggurl 2 years ago
There was an advertising campaign for a brand name hemorrhoid cream which featured Johnny Cash singing Ring of Fire. Clever in a horrible way!
Powerful Katrinka 2 years ago
A very recent PR disaster? DeSantis's announcement of his entry into the presidential race. First, a strange "interview" on Twitter that was largely incomprehensible. Second, a bizarre video in which Elon Musk is on the screen about 80% of the time instead of DeSantis,
Suna Amun 2 years ago
Don't waste your time trying to read this list, it doesn't load all the way. With the censorship, duplicate posts and just general shîïtiness of this site, I wonder why people even try to come here anymore.
Matthew Thompson 2 years ago
Yeah, it suddeny changed from 69 entries to 30 entries whole I was in the list. I restarted the app and 30 entries had suddeny bern truncated.
Load More Replies... Beans 2 years ago (edited)
Unpopular opinion but I really dislike snarky corporate Twitters like Wendy's and stuff. I know everyone freaking loves them and thinks it's a huge PR win, but if you gotta throw shade and put down your rivals to get interest then imo you're doing it wrong. Your product should speak for itself. It just feels gimmicky and cringe to me.
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