Coke vs. Gawker: Brand Criticizes Site's Social Media Prank
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Coca-Cola on Thursday ramped up its criticism of Gawker, saying the site “made it a mission” to trick the brand into converting Adolf Hitler quotes into cheerful art.
Coke’s social media effort encouraged people to reply to negative tweets with the #MakeItHappy hashtag, as part of a broader campaign targeting online hate that included a Super Bowl ad. The brand then transformed negative tweets into cheerful ASCII art. Gawker, which is notorious for its snark, seized on the program by tweeting lines of Hitler’s Mein Kampf, which Coke’s program automatically turned into various happy images.
“We prepared for the ASCII art execution through rigorous scenario planning, built and tested software and created incredibly extensive filters,” Coca-Cola North America spokeswoman Lauren Thompson said Thursday in a statement. “It’s unfortunate that Gawker made it a mission to break the system, and the content they used to do it is appalling. All of this reinforces the need for a change online. We hope people continue to spread happiness with us and show no tolerance for haters and hackers.”
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