Because screenshots are forever.
Social media is brutal. One wrong caption, one bad Photoshop, one “who approved this?” moment — and suddenly, your brand is the main character of the internet (never a good thing).
Most brands double down, apologize, or spin it. But some? They just quietly hit delete and hope nobody noticed. (Spoiler: we noticed.)
Here are 10 times brands tried to erase their most embarrassing posts.
1. Pepsi’s Protest Fail
That Kendall Jenner “unity” ad tried to solve systemic injustice with… a can of Pepsi. After a tidal wave of backlash, the campaign was pulled and every trace scrubbed from their feeds. Internet memory: permanent.
2. McDonald’s “Black Friday” Tweet
McDonald’s accidentally tweeted a draft caption that just said: “Black Friday #### Needs Copy”. The internet roasted them, McD’s deleted it, but not before it went viral as the most honest brand tweet ever.
3. American Apparel’s Challenger Disaster Post
They once confused the Challenger explosion with fireworks and posted it on July 4th. Deleted within hours. Screenshotted for eternity.
4. Snapchat’s Rihanna “Would You Rather” Ad
The ad literally asked if people would rather “slap Rihanna or punch Chris Brown.” Deleted instantly, but the fallout led to a $800M stock drop.
5. Tesco’s Horsemeat Joke
Right after the horsemeat scandal, Tesco scheduled a tweet saying: “It’s sleepy time so we’re off to hit the hay.” The timing was awful. Deleted fast, but still legendary.
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They meant it as a campaign for female chefs. The internet read it as misogyny 101. Deleted in hours after global outrage.
7. Bic’s Women’s Day Post
They told women to “look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, work like a boss.” Deleted fast — but no one forgot.
8. Microsoft’s Teen Slang Tweet
They once tweeted “bae intern” slang to announce a new hire. Deleted when the cringe was too much to bear.
9. Adidas’s “Congrats, You Survived” Email
After the Boston Marathon, Adidas sent out a marketing email with the subject line: “Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon!” Tone-deaf and offensive. Deleted immediately after outrage.
10. The US Embassy’s Cat Meme
Yes, a government account posted a cat meme… then deleted it claiming “staff error.” It wasn’t offensive, just embarrassing.
The Lesson:
Deleting doesn’t make it disappear. Screenshots, Reddit threads, and “brands behaving badly” blogs like this one keep it alive.
If you’re going to post, own it. If you mess up, apologize. But whatever you do — don’t think delete is the undo button.
Because the internet never forgets.
