, out of Ryanair’s hands already? Let’s face it, we go to social media to keep up with friends, look at cute pictures of cats and while away hours at a time doing very little. Not, I would argue to see brands trying their best to be irreverent. The"Silence, brand" meme comes to mind., Ryanair mocks criticisms it gets for poor customer service – whether it be those sneaky additional fees, or window seats without any windows.
Singling out Ryanair is unfair, however. Among the other brands that can take things too far on social media include Brewdog, Oatly, and Paddy Power. Last year, Oatly was criticised foron Reddit – we thought that, like with Brewdog, for example, the continual irreverent sarcasm begins to wear thin the more a brand grows in size and stature.
And who can forget the toe-curling love-in on X in 2021, when Weetabix suggested trying Heinz baked beans on its famous wheat biscuits. Everyone from Domino’s to Kellogg’s to, erm, Tinder got involved in the replies, with Lidl asking, “Babe are u ok?” Sometimes, however, this social media freedom can be used for good. In 2019, a man in South Africa was mocked online after heat KFC. But after the story gained traction on social media, brands were almost falling over themselves to offer the couple freebies to congratulate them.