SpaghettiOs' Pearl Harbor Tweet

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Campbell Soup has apologized for an inappropriate tweet posted by its SpaghettiOs brand. On December 7, the 72nd anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, whoever manages SpaghettiOs' Twitter feed had the wrong idea for commemorating the event:

  SpaghettiOs

Twitter critics were quick, retweeting "A tweet that will live in infamy," "First UH-OH, SPAGHETTIOs headline in 3, 2, 1..." and "Those who believe that any publicity is good publicity have not had much publicity." A smiling piece of pasta didn't seem to be the best way to pay respects to the 2,400 Americans who died.

The tweet was deleted, and Campbell Soup issued this apology: "We apologize for our recent tweet in remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day. We meant to pay respect, not to offend." The spokesperson admitted that the Twitter account is managed internally. 

Discussion Starters:

  • Do you find the tweet offensive, cute, or something else? Are people just too sensitive?
  • How could this situation have been prevented?
  • Campbell Soup's statement is short. Do you find it effective? How, if at all, could the statement be improved?