Making Light of Sandy, Is There Such a Thing as Bad Publicity?

There’s something to be said for getting in on a trend when it’s hot, social media marketing at it’s core is all about trends. When that great, roaring and rushing storm of interest starts to brew, it pays to be right in the eye of that sucker…unless the storm in question is a LITERAL one, of course.

American Apparel found that out the hard way when they tried to capitalize on hurricane Sandy’s arrival on the east coast. They sent out a mass-email Monday night (during peak storm hours) offering 20% off to customers who were in the danger zone. All you had to do was be in the right state and enter SANDYSALE at checkout.

This didn’t go over so well.

People took to social media in droves, complaining about the clothing company. Here are a couple recent replies:

–“American apparel just sent me a hurricane sandy 20% off sale alert to my email. I want to throw up again. Wtf is wrong with people!!???!!??”

–”Another tasteless marketing campaign by American Apparel. Why am I not surprised.”

The majority of the press has been negative, but maybe that’s the way they want it? These days, it can be pretty hard to tell the difference between a faux pas and genius marketing. This little “gaffe” landed American Apparel in many major news sources and got a lot of people talking about their brand, all for the low low price of an email.

Certainly, the press is negative, but IS there such a thing as bad publicity? What do you think, did they do it on purpose or was it an honest mistake?

Original article about American Apparel's marketing was posted on Wikimotive's blog under the title American Apparel and Sandy

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Comment by Connie Keane on November 8, 2012 at 1:33pm: 20 percent? That's all? In the wake of a disaster all they could offer was 20% off? Goes to show they're not serious.

Cheesy cheap marketing from a bunch of cheapskates!!

Comment by Doug Davis on November 1, 2012 at 3:45pm: Zach, all of us, that have been part of the business, know that we have some of the finest people in all of society. Most of us find the public perception offensive. That still doesn't change the reality.

Many of the discussions on dE and ADM don't seem to be all that relative to our business.

Comment by Zach Billings on November 1, 2012 at 3:10pm: That's definitely a fair assessment Doug, obviously the clothing business is not the car business and we all know that dealers are already in the h*** when it comes to public perception. I think it's unfortunate that we have to tread carefully whenever the public eye is watching but it is the reality of the business.

Comment by Doug Davis on November 1, 2012 at 12:08pm: Certainly, the press is negative, but IS there such a thing as bad publicity? What do you think, did they do it on purpose or was it an honest mistake?

I don't think it matters. It is the clothing business. Abercrombie & Fitch sent out a catalog picturing teenage girls in way too sexy attire. It offended a lot of people but I question whether it hurt their sales.

This is not the clothing business. Dealerships are not held in high esteem. With two strikes against us, we can ill afford negative publicity.

Comment by Jeff Novak on October 31, 2012 at 11:57am: The world of social media is precarious, to be sure, but it is equally capricious. Our insatiable desire to be part of every single story or join every outraged mob also lowers our attention span. While we are raising our fist in outrage at this company today, in a week or so we will have forgotten all about their audacity. Social media is slowly turning us into the dog on that movie, "UP!" http://youtu.be/SSUXXzN26zg

Comment by Dan Hinds on October 31, 2012 at 11:07am: Great article Tim, I'm definitely on American Apparel's side here too. Hopefully they don't lose business over this crap.

Comment by Brad VanMagness on October 31, 2012 at 11:04am: Yea I think American Apparel will probably come out on top of this one but it is unfortunate they've been attacked for being smart marketers.

Comment by Larry Rettig on October 31, 2012 at 10:58am: The way that we have to walk on egg shells these days especially with the looming possibility of a social media disaster, is unfortunate to me. I for one think that this was a very smart marketing idea and it's disappointing to me that they are getting blasted for it.

Comment by Greg Devlin on October 31, 2012 at 10:53am: This is a problem though Abner, no one has been taken advantage of, if you want an example of companies profiting and taking advantage of people in an emergency, look at sales of generators and plywood leading up to a storm. American Apparel are just offering something to do while you're stuck inside and even giving a discount.

Comment by Abner Cavalcanti on October 31, 2012 at 10:47am: I definitely think this is in poor taste you shouldn't be marketing or profiting based on a situation like this that has affected so many people.