KitchenAid, maker of dishwashers and other home appliances, has a big social media mess to clean up.
During Wednesday night's presidential debate, Barack Obama credited his tenacious grandmother who helped raise him and passed away three days before he was elected president.
Moments later, @KitchenAidUSA, the company's official Twitter account, sent this:
"Obamas gma even knew it was going 2 b bad! 'She died 3 days b4 he became president'."
The insensitive tweet not only went to the company's 25,000 followers, but also included a hashtag to make it a part of NBC News' social debate conversation.
The company hastily deleted the tweet, but the damage was done. Many quickly retweeted the comment, while others replied with scathing remarks.
"I love how people are going 4 @KitchenAidUSA 's throats. Now watch as the Breville sales increase." — AshLemonade, @Ashlemonade
"Never, ever, mix brand with personal. @KitchenAid is learning the hard way during their last tweet." — Kate-Madonna Hindes, @girlmeetsgeek
KitchenAid, owned by Whirlpool Corp., immediately went into spin control by offering apologies on Twitter and other social networks. From its Facebook page:
"Hello, everyone. My name is Cynthia Soledad, and I am the head of the KitchenAid brand. I would like to personally apologize to President Barack Obama, his family and everyone on Twitter for the offensive tweet sent earlier. It was carelessly sent in error by a member of our Twitter team who, needless to say, won't be tweeting for us anymore. That said, I take full responsibility for my team. Thank you for hearing me out."
Some accepted the response, while others said the company had lost their loyalty.
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