Nothing revolutionized the field of advertising quite like the television. It opened up a new world to advertisers wherein they could flash their products across the screen to people who were waiting for their favorite shows to come back on.
Various statistics have shown that average Americans will be exposed to millions of television commercials in their lifetimes. However, as the younger generations abandon traditional television in favor of streaming platforms and social media, corporations have been forced to get creative.
It is easy to scroll past advertisements on our social media news feeds or press ‘mute’ while an advertisement plays before a YouTube video (or skip after five seconds, if one is so lucky as to be given that option).
While many corporations maintain an advertising presence in print, on television and on social media, some forward-thinking brands have taken to adopting disingenuous and phony ‘personalities’ on one of the most popular and widely-used social media sites in the world: Twitter.
The Taco Bell Twitter account currently boasts over 1.95 million followers. The account quickly became popular for its deadpan delivery and freewheeling interaction with Twitter users. Taco Bell’s Twitter feed is full of sardonic replies to customers, fans and trolls alike.
Furthermore, the account has also shown to be closely tuned in to what is popular with young people. Recently, the chain’s vegetarian options were featured in a tweet containing a slick, high-quality photo of a black bean Crunchwrap Supreme. At the end of August, the account posted a photo of well known pop-punk band Neck Deep eating at the company’s headquarters.
Wendy’s also quickly became another one of the most popular corporate Twitter accounts, boasting nearly 3.4 million followers. The account responds to serious customer complaints while simultaneously interacting with Twitter users in a care-free manner. In replies to tweets directed at them, the person(s) behind the Wendy’s account use emojis, neglect to capitalize words and disregard punctuation. This double-sided approach to interacting with a customer base (both active and potential) shows a calculated strategy by their social media team.
The Wendy’s Twitter account reached a new level of notoriety in the spring of 2017, when the brand struck a deal with a young man named Carter Wilkerson: If he could get 18 million retweets, they would give him free chicken nuggets for a year. Social media campaigns have become commonplace whether they be to raise money for someone in need, to get a problematic person fired from their job or, in Wilkeron’s case, to simultaneously get free nuggets and attain the ever-elusive ‘clout.’ The #NuggsForCarter tweet went on to become the most retweeted post in the website’s history.
These quirky, relatable personas put forth by corporate Twitter accounts have not come without their detractors. One theory (which this writer subscribes to) proposes that as television and print advertisements become increasingly irrelevant, corporations have turned to Twitter to target the Millennial and Gen-Z generations. One of the ideas put forth in this theory is that these corporations want Twitter users to believe that the company is like a quick-witted friend, not simply another brand in the stable of some international, multi-billion dollar conglomerate.
If Taco Bell’s nameless, faceless social media manager who fires off zingers from behind an iPhone all day can make you laugh, then maybe you’ll remember that the next time it’s 10 p.m., you’re hungry and a Taco Bell is nearby. Nevermind the fact that Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands which is a publicly traded corporation that happened to net $1.619 billion in 2016, reportedly paid their CEO nearly $14 million in 2018 and generally pays their employees at a rate not far off from the federal minimum wage—quirky and relatable, indeed.
Graphic: Mars Hogue/ The Johnsonian
