Spooky PR Nightmares: Lessons to be Learned
From misguided tweets to company-wide scandals, public relations (PR) crises can greatly harm a company’s reputation. A single grave mistake can unleash years of backlash and negative outcomes to a company’s business objectives. However, each crisis teaches valuable lessons about prevention. In this blog, I will discuss three scary PR disasters, what went wrong, and how to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
Burger King’s Wicked Tweet on International Women’s Day
On International Women’s Day, a day that recognizes women’s achievements, Burger King unintentionally brewed up a disaster on Twitter in 2021. The company attempted to use shock value to draw attention to the lack of female chefs in UK kitchens. Its initial tweet stating “Women belong in the kitchen” was followed by another saying “If they want to, of course. Yet only 20% of chefs are women. We're on a mission to change the gender ratio in the restaurant industry by empowering female employees with the opportunity to pursue a culinary career.”
While Burger King’s intentions may have been to uplift women, many criticized its approach after only reading the first Tweet, which promoted a historically sexist phrase. To resolve the crisis, Burger King immediately apologized for its haunting miscalculation and deleted the original tweet.
Lesson: Shock value can backfire when the necessary context is not provided or overlooked. Be sure readers can immediately access punchlines to exorcise confusion.
Tesla’s Failed Trick - The “Bulletproof” Cyberstruck
In November 2019, CEO Elon Musk unveiled Tesla’s new futuristic truck at a promotional event in Los Angeles. After claiming the car was “bulletproof” against a 9mm handgun, Musk invited Tesla’s chief designer, Franz Von Holzhausen, to test the truck’s durability using a sledgehammer and a metal ball. To Musk’s surprise, the metal ball smashed the truck’s windows not once… but twice. While he made light of the situation on stage, the failed demonstration earned some terrifying press for Tesla.
Lesson: Test new products multiple times before the public launch — especially when making a gutsy claim. Double and triple-checking could save a company from both embarrassment and legal trouble.
Wells Fargo Conjures Account Fraud
Between 2002 and 2016, Wells Fargo pressured employees to meet unrealistic sales goals. As a result, employees created millions of phantom accounts without customer consent by creating false records or misusing customers’ identities. This meant Wells Fargo unjustly collected millions of dollars in fees and interest, harmed customers’ credit ratings, and misused customers’ sensitive personal information.
Wells Fargo’s hesitation to accept responsibility only added fuel to the fire. At first, the company tried to mask the situation by blaming over 5,000 low-level employees. It wasn’t until weeks later that leadership took responsibility and the CEO stepped down.
Lesson: When a crisis happens at a large scale, leadership should immediately take accountability. Recognizing the seriousness of a problem and promising to correct the issue can minimize reputation scars.
As you can see, both large and small mistakes can negatively affect a company’s public image. These spooky PR crises teach the importance of providing context, testing new products, and taking accountability when necessary. By studying past issues, PR professionals can both manage current problems and prevent frightening crises in the future.
Alexia Frazzitta is a senior at Grand Valley State University studying Advertising and Public Relations with a minor in Digital Studies. Alexia is the current President of PRSSA for the 2024-2025 school year and will be returning to GrandPR for her second year as an Account Associate. Outside of PRSSA, she works in the Office of Student Life to help students get involved on campus. After graduation, Alexia hopes to utilize her copywriting and brand strategy skills in the technology or entertainment industry.