Pabst Confirms Explicit Tweets Are Not A Hack But Staff’s ‘Poor Judgment’
No ribbons were awarded for this bizarre, baseless campaign that had no reason for existing besides the attention.
On Monday, Twitter users were rudely awakened by a string of tweets from Pabst Blue Ribbon mocking drinkers who might wish to partake in the ‘Dry January’ public health initiative of cutting back on their alcohol intake in the first month of the year. “Not drinking this January? Try eating a**!” the beer brand strangely declared.
First off, good lord. I hate it here. The fact that we've entered a phase of Brand Twitter where people working in social think tweeting about "eating ass" is a viable social media strategy. It's just insane, juvenile, and a complete misunderstanding of the value of engagement.
— Jack Appleby (@JuiceboxCA) January 3, 2022
In retaliation to the health scheme, Pabst Blue Ribbon insisted on following a “Wet January” diet. And while it also produces a non-alcoholic beer, it only pushed its original boozy version, which is labeled in red.
More baffling was the brand’s apparent obsession with the tush. It also stood by the unusual tweets by biting back at anyone who criticized them.
Brand Twitter coming out SWINGING in the new year 😳 pic.twitter.com/MBTKWHCG1R
— John Kovacevich (@JohnKovacevich) January 3, 2022
However, after backlash, the company ate its words and apologized for being inappropriate, as well as deleted the tweets. “We apologize about the language and content of our recent tweets,” Nick Reely, VP of marketing for Pabst Blue Ribbon, told Ad Age. Reely also confirmed that the stunt wasn’t the result of its social media account being hacked, and attributed it to the work of an employee.
“The tweets in question were written in poor judgment by one of our associates,” the spokesperson noted.
Pabst Blue Ribbon added that the posts fall out of line with the brand’s values, and that it was “handling the matter internally.”
While some might argue that the negative press surrounding the campaign has benefitted the company in a way, Jack Appleby, a creative strategist, pointed out that if the tweets were truly effective, they wouldn’t have had to be taken down.
“There are better ways, that are more true to your brand, that will drive more community, that will drive more sales,” he added.
So was PBR's tweet on purpose?
— Jack Appleby (@JuiceboxCA) January 3, 2022
Was that... strategy?
Prettyyy sure it was. They went and community managed their replies. Then when they deleted the tweet, put up this cheeky little smiley. You have to assume they're arguing the "anything for eyeballs" strategy. Which, yikes. pic.twitter.com/eqz54Z3JYB
[via Forbes, Ad Age, Jack Appleby, images via various sources]
