United: It's Too Soon

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Wendys-chicken-nuggets-promo_0United tried a fun Twitter campaign, but it failed. It's simply too soon after Dr. Dao was dragged off the plane to put themselves out there.

A 16-year-old from Nevada asked Wendy's how many retweets he would need to get free Chicken Nuggets for a year. The answer was 18 million.

Somewhere along the way, United jumped in and offered a free flight to the boy to any Wendy's in the country. It was a bold move, but people had fun at United's expense.

Discussion:

  • Do you agree with my assessment that it's too soon for United? What if they wanted a few weeks? Still too soon?
  • Or did the campaign backfire for other reasons?
  • How do you think Wendy's feels about the association with United?
  • What else should United be doing now to rebuild its brand?