SpaghettiOs wanted to make its presence felt while America remembers the 72nd anniversary of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor but the canned pasta maker's marketing stint went awry when it sent out a tweet many found distasteful and offensive.
On Friday night, SpaghettiOs sent out a tweet asking its followers to "Take a moment to remember #PearlHarbor with us." The tweet came with an image of its all smiling mascot holding the American flag.
The happy logo tweet solicited ire in the Twitterverse with some questioning if such a promotion is appropriate for the solemn occasion. The anniversary of the Japanese air attack on the U.S naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, has always been a somber occasion. Roses are laid as tribute in remembrance of the more than 2,400 Americans who died and the 1,282 who were injured during the military strike that took place 72 years ago.
People also mocked the company for pasting the cartoon ‘O' in photos of other historic and solemn events. This is not the first time that the brand used its mascot to "mark" a solemn occasion. The cartoon ‘O' has been seen in the images of the Kent State shooting, JFK assassination and Hindenburg disaster.
A representative for the Campbell Soup Co, the company that owns the SpaghettiOs brand, said the offensive tweet was taken down by 11 am on Saturday. The tweet, however, has already gone viral and criticized many times before it was removed.
SpaghettiOs sent out a follow up tweet to its 11,000-plus followers apologizing for their tweet saying, "We meant to pay respect, not to offend."
We apologize for our recent tweet in remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day. We meant to pay respect, not to offend.
— SpaghettiOs (@SpaghettiOs) December 7, 2013
Meanwhile, contrary to what many may think, SpaghettiOs' Twitter account is not managed by an ad agency. Per Campbell, which also owns Prego, V8 and Pepperidge Farm, the Twitter account is managed internally and not by an agency.
SpaghettiOs isn't the only brand that got a backlash for its Twitter post. Earlier this year, AT&T got burned for using Sept. 11 for its product placement. The company tweeted an image of 9/11 memorial lights shown through an AT&T phone.
