branding

Brands appealing to consumers on social media is nothing new. Fast food chains Wendy's and Denny's have both received a lot of attention for bringing spicy roasts and absurd memes to the masses. Though we appreciate their efforts (especially Denny's puzzling Instagram feed), we can't help but realize we're eating up their social media strategy like hungry wolves. As professional consumers of content, we prefer a little nuance where brand pandering is concerned. That's why we've fallen in love with the absolutely unhinged humor that @KFC_ES has been serving up on Twitter.

While the KFC Spain Twitter account has been serving up memes for quite a while, over the last couple weeks they seem to have upped the shitpost ante with highly cursed images and memes that only a seasoned shitposter could appreciate. Best of all? They're not just pretending to reach a specific audience. Tired of the way brands do the "fellow kids" thing on social media, KFC Spain wants to do things differently. We spoke with one of their community managers, who revealed that they're just trying to use Twitter as a "regular shitposter" to join the conversation instead of forcing anything. Judging by the insane engagement they've been receiving, they're definitely doing things right. We've put some of their latest and greatest work in this gallery, but you should probably go ahead and follow the account for more cursed goodness. Whatever they churn out will be anything but boring.

Ever wonder what brand's slogans would be if they actually told the truth? Well, these "honest slogans" are the answer to your questions. They're an amazing departure from the delusional and lofty images that big brands and corporations try to convince us of. And they're honestly funny as hell.

As the country nears a week of protests following the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police, there's been an influx of people and brands showing their support on social media. #BlackoutTuesday, which happened yesterday, was probably the largest show of virtual solidarity yet. The "movement," which was mostly on Instagram and Twitter, called for the "muting" of usual programming such as work promotions, art, and lifestyle posting. To show support, many people and brands began posting black squares to their timelines, as an attempt to highlight black voices and information regarding police brutality. Early in the day there was a backlash regarding the apparent censorship of these very voices - it seemed many social users were hashtagging #Blacklivesmatter and creating a literal blackout of important movement information. But as @RespectableLaw, a progressive lawyer who supports working families, pointed out in a fascinating Twitter thread, there are other problems with the squareposting.

Many big brands, from Nike to Microsoft, were eager to adopt the passive show of support. At first glance, it's nice to see corporations take the side of the people who make them profitable. @RespectableLaw, however, took to Twitter to show how many of these brands have extremely shady and inhumane business practices. Most of them have used child labor. There may not be such a thing as ethical consumption right now, but it's important to realize that brands are not your friends - and they have a lot of work to do before their passive shows of solidarity are taken seriously,.

We're in peak late-stage capitalism, folks, and there's never been a better time for ridiculous and almost cringey content. Earlier last week Netflix changed the game when they asked fellow brands to share things that people can say during sex AND if they're a brand twitter account. The responses are predictably wild, and endlessly entertaining. We had no idea brands were so naughty.

An ancient meme from @shitheadsteve about using ketchup as a bookmark has started a serious Twitter trend almost three years later. The meme seems to have kicked off with a goofy tweet from Chex Mix, suggesting using their snack food as a way to keep your place while reading. Brands such as Vitamin Water and Steak-umm quickly followed suit with their own destructive bookmark ideas. While the trending meme is ruffling the feathers of serious book nerds, far more people are having their own goofy fun. Here are some of our favorite shitty bookmark life hacks. Just don't use them on your first editions.

We're still not sure what "yeet" means, but there is absolutely no doubt in our minds that these people and brands really missed the mark with these sad attempts at seeming relevant. Culled from the depths of r/fellowkids, these images are proof that sometimes it's really best to not try at all. 

The internet has been pretty freaking weird the past few days. Tom Brady making out with his son, Liam Neeson's racism confessions, and then yesterday Sunny D went viral for tweeting about depression. The orange-flavored beverage brand tweeted "I can't do this anymore" and the entire internet seemed to step up to provide support, with brands (like Moon Pie) and concerned citizens sending wholesome messages. The exchange is very entertaining. 

While we're having fun with it, this marketing tactic is not without its critics. Food website Eater was quick to denounce not only Sunny D's tweet, but trying to gain brand clout by posting vague and bleak messages. Many people agreed that the practice was decidedly uncute. While we are into brands embracing "weird Twitter," depression is not a joke, and maybe they should put a little more thought in their tweets. 

The restaurant formerly known as the International House Of Pancakes made waves last week after announcing a name change to "IHOb." The chain remained coy about what the "b" stands for - until today. The answer, much to the internet's chagrin, is burgers.

We reported this "intel" last week after a couple IHOP insiders reported the beefy news. The restaurant is looking to remind people that they serve lunch and dinner, and have added several new burgers to their breakfast-y menu. So far, the internet has reacted with disbelief, confusion and anger. People who love IHOP apparently go there for the breakfast food - and are feeling pretty B-etrayed.

While we're not sure if the burgers will take off the way IHOP is hoping, we do have good news for the House of Pancakes purists - that P isn't actually going anywhere.

In this day and age, every brand and their mom is on social media. It's completely imperative when trying to drive engagement and develop an identity for your business. While most brands have gotten pretty good at the whole social media game, there are definitely certain accounts that do it better than others. These are their stories.

Life moves pretty quickly, and corporations are well aware of this and thanks to Adweek we can see how these memorable logos have changed over time in GIF form!