Is It Time For Brands To Silence Their 9-11 Tributes On Social Media? Yes

It’s time for a moment of silence from brands.

Today is the 13th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on American soil, and brands are out in force on social media reminding us that they remember.

Most brands posting on Twitter are taking the safe route by keeping overt marketing and brand logos out of their messages and therefore avoiding the missteps of AT&T last September and SpaghettiOs on the Pearl Harbor anniversary in December.

A few apparently haven’t learned from that history, though. Build-A-Bear posted a picture of a teddy bear in soldier’s garb, before deleting the tweet. Tied to the South, an online apparel company, asked for “2,296 retweets for the 2,296 people that lost their lives 13 years ago today,” before deleting that misguided message.

Bikram Arlington, a Yoga studio in Arlington, Virginia, offered a 20% discount in honor of the day, then when Twitter users reacted negatively, tweeted a conspiracy theory about the World Trade Center. (Later Bikram Arlington deleted the more controversial tweets — including the discount deal — and apologized.)

But even the brands that played it safe with general messages of remembrance like these …

We will never forget. pic.twitter.com/7zJrh3ACWh

— Applebee’s (@Applebees) September 11, 2014

God bless America. #NeverForget911 pic.twitter.com/NnfqnmsINg

— White Castle (@WhiteCastle) September 11, 2014

… received backlash on those tweets. A sample:

And it begins. Honestly sickening. “@Applebees: We will never forget. pic.twitter.com/BXaaUTjrif”

— Christopher Rizzo (@rizzotweets) September 11, 2014

@WhiteCastle @twerkrobot why do fast food chains keep doing this? “remember the dead. by the way, burgers”

— Jakey Rolling (@diss1) September 11, 2014

Furthermore, brand activity on September 11, spawns a legion of posts bemoaning the practice on tech, culture and marketing websites (like this one).

Several Twitter users — @LaughingStoic and @JoeMande — are retweeting all the brand 9-11 tweets they can find, in a shaming effort. Others, including Mike Monteiro and Sean Bonner, are sarcastically responding to brands’ 9-11 tweets and also adding trenchant (and occasionally NSFW) commentary:

Tell you what @WeberGrills, you gimme a good discount on a grill and I’ll put my brother’s ashes in with the charcoal. #neverforget

— Mike Monteiro (@monteiro) September 11, 2014

The terrorists can take the icees from our cold, dead hands, am I right, @Official_ICEE? I mean fuck those dudes! Icee me, bro. Discounts?

— Mike Monteiro (@monteiro) September 11, 2014

How can “brands insert themselves into the conversation without seeming opportunistic” is a question I was just asked. Answer? THEY CAN’T

— Sean Bonner Ⓥ (@seanbonner) September 11, 2014

The ONLY problem with 9/11 brand tweets is their existence. The only “brand strategy” you need today is to shut the fuck up.

— Mike Monteiro (@monteiro) September 11, 2014

Some would argue that many social media users are less cynical about such messages and that people like it when their favorite brands show their humility and humanity (after all a brand’s employees have human emotions), but given the amount of negative attention, I have to wonder if it’s wise for brands to tweet about 9-11.

Actually, I don’t wonder. The savviest brands today are those staying silent.

Postscript: It appears that a number of brands are taking the day off. Verizon, see tweet below, signaled its intentions on Wednesday. And many brand accounts — including real-time marketing regulars Oreo Cookie, Arby’s, McDonald’s, Denny’s and Walgreens — have gone almost entirely silent, either not tweeting today or only replying to users.

In observance of 9/11, this handle will be silent tomorrow. We will resume sharing on September 12.

— Verizon (@Verizon) September 11, 2014