By: Adrianne Miller, Account Manager

While errors are commonplace to human nature, the occasional public relations blunder generally results in a higher magnitude of consequence than your everyday faux pas.  When PR professionals fail, they fail publicly.  Imagine making a judgment error that erupts into an epic failure, recognized by all. Feelings of dread, miserable nausea and heightened perspiration wash over, and you know that you’ve made a grave mistake. Either you have a rough case of Atychiphobia, or you’re responsible for an unfortunate batch of headlines and must inevitably face the wrath of critical spectators.

Let’s gather around the campfire and rehash some of the most frightening recent PR blunders. . .

Chrysler and the F-Bomb: Like many companies, Chrysler had given the reigns of their Twitter account to a social media agency. Unfortunately, the relationship came to a screeching halt after an agency employee accidentally took out his road rage on Chrysler’s official Twitter account, tweeting: “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to (expletive) drive.” The rogue tweet, intended for the user’s personal account, was frowned upon given that Detroit is legendary for automobile production. Twenty-four hours later, the angry Tweet, the employee and the PR firm were abruptly dismissed from Chrysler’s contract.

Costa Concordia and the Sunken Standards:  The Costa Concordia tragedy was a super-sized disaster for both the cruise ship industry and their PR standards (or lack thereof).  Earlier this year, a Carnival cruise ship struck a reef and nearly sank, killing at least 13 passengers. This ill-fated journey came to an end only hours after leaving the Italian port of Civitavecchia.  In a haughty attempt to show off the ship to the locals, the Captain made an unapproved change in course and sailed too close to the land. The rest is (travel) history . . . and a crisis management blunder the size of an iceberg. The disastrous story broke headlines as the media rolled out to capture, react to and present the “news.” Unfortunately, in the wake of the crisis, the industry professionals and leaders were missing in action.  Concordia’s Captain Franceso Schettino abandoned ship (before all passengers and crew were evacuated), and Carnival’s CEO Micky Arson turned a blind eye to the situation. Instead of offering immediate public apologies to salvage the cruise line’s reputation, making public statements to honor the lives lost, or offering compensation for the families suffering from emotional trauma, Arson chose to avoid the spotlight and dodge the crisis. Only after Arson noticed the media coverage speculating his absence, did he get involved and start cleaning up his mess.

Coca-Cola and the Blame Game:  In preparation for the Final Four Championship games, Coca-Cola decided to add some laissez-faire to their recipe for success, launching a guerrilla marketing campaign. Coca-Cola’s ad agency hired street teams to cover the sidewalks of historic New Orleans with Coca-Cola Zero logos to amp awareness about the calorie-free drink. There was only one problem . . . Coca-Cola did not have the city’s permission to embellish the French Quarter. As quickly as the (illegally placed) advertisements popped up, so did the severe backlash.  While Coca-Cola worked to remove the graffiti, the corporation threw their ad agency under the bus and played the “miscommunication card,” rather than accepting responsibility for breaking city rules for their own campaign. Tsk tsk. . .

Live and learn from these cases. Hopefully, hearing these spooky PR tales will teach us to remember the basic PR lessons that should forever be ingrained in our brains: Be (very) careful, be present and aware, and always take immediate responsibility for your actions.