Dive Brief:
- Nestle has apologized for a shocking and offensive tweet made that seems to mock the missing students from the town of Ayotzinapa, Mexico.
- That nation's attorney general issued a statement Friday saying the 43 missing students had apparently been killed, and their bodies burned and ground up.
- Over the weekend, the Nestle Crunch account tweeted a play on a Mexican pun that translates as "They crushed those from Ayotzinapa."
Dive Insight:
Nestle hasn't said if its account was hacked. Instead, the world's largest food company has said only that the offensive tweet was unauthorized and that the company is investigating. There's at least one reason to think the tweet came from outside the company - it appeared at 12:01 a.m., not during business hours. Of course, most in marketing can tell you that timing tweets to be published automatically is a very easy task.
Regardless of what did or did not happen with Nestle, it's worth remembering that it's seldom wise for food brands to weigh in on the more emotional, controversial or disturbing issues of the day. And it's certainly worth remembering today - the holiday called Veteran's Day here in the U.S. that commemorates the end of WWI - that tweeting on a national holiday requires a special level of sensitivity.