The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Was Cinnabon’s tweet truly offensive?
‘Best buns in galaxy’ draws criticism from fans after star’s death.
When companies try to capitalize on events in the news with their social media accounts, it can lead to some, well, sticky situations. American Apparel apologized after an employee tweeted a photo of the Challenger space shuttle explosion to commemorate July 4. In 2011, Kenneth Cole made an insensitive joke about its latest collection being the reason for the uprising in Cairo, only to make a similar gaffe in 2013.
Now after the death of actress Carrie Fisher, Cinnabon is the latest brand to put itself in a social media knot.
The maker of the sweet and strong-smelling pastries posted a tweet, now deleted, depicting Fisher in her famous role, Princess Leia, with a cinnamon roll in place of one of the buns in her hair. “RIP Carrie Fisher, you’ll always have the best buns in the galaxy,” the tweet read. After some Twitter users found the tweet to be tasteless in light of the star’s death, Cinnabon deleted it and apologized. In an emailed statement, Cinnabon spokeswoman Loryn Franco said “our intention was to pay respect through an image we created in her honor for Star Wars Day 2016” and was “sorry our tweet appeared disrespectful to some.”
Cinnabon tweeted, “Our deleted tweet was genuinely meant as a tribute, but we shouldn’t have posted it. We are truly sorry.”
In many cases of social media uproar, that would be that, and Twitter would move on to whatever controversy came next. But this is America in 2016, a country so divided that it can’t even seem to agree on what to think about the response to the death of a famous actress by a brand known for its airport command of our olfactory systems.
The backlash that prompted Cinnabon’s apology came swiftly. Some saw the inevitable Star Wars references. (“Off, you must log, @cinnabon,” tweeted one digital content specialist with a photo of Yoda.) Others saw the move as out of line. As one branding strategist and instructor put it, “ummmm ... NO to your Carrie Fisher tweet! You’ve gone beyond being a current, responsive brand to opportunistic and super tacky.”
Others: “Someone on your social media team should have had a bad feeling about this.” “And just like that, I unfollow Cinnabon.”
But many others tweeted that the backlash was overwrought. Some thought Fisher, who even had a sense of humor when it came to her obituary, would have
liked the tweet.
One wrote, “Carrie Fisher was a cool frood and would have laughed at the @cinnabon tweet. I guess some people never saw her on the Late Late Show.”
Others saw in the Twitter outrage about a cinnamon roll company’s tweet an illustration of what became an issue in the 2016 election — a culture that some believe has become too politically correct and too sensitive in America.
As one person put it: “@ Cinnabon harmless and cool pic of Carrie Fisher. The new PC America will cry about anything. Get your participation trophies millennials!”
Another tweeted this: “Why are people so sensitive about everything?? Cinnabon made a creative tribute to Carrie Fisher and SJWs are all boohoo, how rude.”
While the response was particularly divided, it isn’t the first time outrage over a corporate brand’s tweet has sparked controversy, with outrage and defenders. Last year, after Apple released a new set of emoji, Clorox tweeted an image of one of its bottles made up of the tiny digital symbols with the line “new emojis are all right but where’s the bleach.” While the brand seemed to be asking for an emoji of its own, it also landed at the same time Apple released racially diverse emoji. Some saw the tweet as racially insensitive. Others thought that view was overly sensitive.
The backlash to Cinnabon’s tweet — whether deserved or overwrought — shows why “news-jacking,” or an attempt by a brand to inject itself into a social media conversation, can be risky, even if it’s meant to be lighthearted or sincere.