Everything from bridges to Ferris wheels have been projected with purple light following the death of music legend Prince, as previously reported by the Inquisitr . But not every tribute to Prince’s legacy has been well-received, especially when that tribute appears to function simultaneously as an advertisement.
For example, Cheerios recently attempted to send Prince off with a “Rest in Peace” message, but decided it would be a good idea to dot the “i” with a Cheerio. This single tweet caused a fair bit of outrage as the parent company, General Mills, was accused of capitalizing on Prince’s tragic death for their own benefit.
The @cheerios tweet about @Prince isn’t going over too well pic.twitter.com/nVqAUUD6oC
— Jim Hammerand (@mspbjHammer) April 21, 2016
General Mills quickly removed the Prince tweet once they noticed the backlash, but not before several people screen-captured the image. Following the mistake, Cheerios spoke to Ad Age and all but apologized for honoring Prince in poor taste.
“As a Minnesota brand, Cheerios wanted to acknowledge the loss of a musical legend in our hometown. But we quickly decided that we didn’t want the tweet to be misinterpreted, and removed it out of respect for Prince and those mourning.”
But Cheerios wasn’t the only brand that sent out a social media advertisement disguised as a tribute to Prince. Virtually none of these Prince tributes were received positively from the internet.
@chevrolet Don’t. Just don’t. Prince dying is not an advertising opportunity. @deray
— M. Kei (@kujakupoet) April 22, 2016
— Maker’s Mark (@MakersMark) April 21, 2016
In response to Maker’s Mark, several Twitter users have pointed out that Prince didn’t consume alcohol and was an outspoken advocate against drinking. Another even claimed “Prince would hate this.”
While many of these brands claim they aren’t trying to use Prince’s death as an opportunity to peddle their products, they have been accused of using search engine trends to redirect traffic to their websites and advertisements. With posts about Prince dominating the internet this week, it’s easy to see why referencing the singer in any way would be beneficial.
If it’s considered poor taste to use Prince’s death to advertise, then it’s in even poorer taste to associate Prince’s death with pornography. The popular pornography website Pornhub also honored Prince by changing the “P” in their website logo to Prince’s notorious symbol.
While Pornhub didn’t send out a social media tribute to Prince like other brands, they have still been accused of using internet algorithms to their advantage by bringing searches for “Prince” to their pornographic website.
A New York-based crisis management expert, named Jessa Moore , spoke to the Huffington Post about these tasteless branding decisions, claiming there is never a good way for a company to pay respects to the death of someone like Prince.
“It’s insensitive. It’s like they’re saying, ‘We’re going to capitalize on his death so we show up in an search algorithm.’ When something like this happens, a company realizes how good their social media really is.”
Even a brand like Caribou Coffee that didn’t put their product anywhere in their Prince tribute could still be accused of using the singer’s death to bring traffic to their social media page. Though the following tweet is nothing but an image of pure purple, the use of Prince-related hashtags will no doubt bring views to their brand.
#RestInPurple #MNLove #Prince pic.twitter.com/hhJ0S6GxqG
— Caribou Coffee (@Caribou_Coffee) April 21, 2016
Do you think it was smart to reference the death of Prince within an advertisement? Do you think it was wrong of Pornhub to affiliate their pornographic brand with Prince?
[Photos by Adam Rountree/Getty Images, Scott Olson/Getty Images]
