Social media can be an intensely powerful tool for businesses, but when account managers go off script, the consequences can be damning.
In 2022, marketers appear to have largely steered clear of controversy, though a handful still managed to incur the internet's wrath.
In certain cases, companies like Duolingo walk a tricky balance, praised for their irreverence until a line is crossed—as happened with the company's widely-condemned quip earlier this year about the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial.
Other companies learned the hard way that dirty jokes, while attention-garnering, can also fall spectacularly flat. Pabst Blue Ribbon and Tampax both saw blowback for trolling Twitter with jokes that urged users to eat ass and talked about menstruation in vaguely sexual terms, respectively.
Read on for the 7 biggest flubs brands made on social media this year.