Monday Funday: making a hash of it
Red Ed Sheeran turns Twitter blue
Ah Ed Sheeran, voted the coolest ginger of all time here at Speak Media Towers – beating off fierce competition from Ron Weasley, Prince Harry and Basil Brush.
The imminent release of the Suffolk-born singer’s new album called for an exciting hashtag and Team Sheeran opted for ‘Sheeran Album Party’… remove the spaces, make it all lower case, and you get - well, something seemingly x-rated.
Make no mistake though – unlike the similar Susan Boyle hashtag that resulted in red faces all round – this is an intelligent, accidentally-deliberate double entendre – resulting in far more (free) exposure than a traditional advertising campaign would have received.
So what has Monday Funday learnt from all this you ask? Earned media is far more powerful than paid media, a knowingly off-colour hashtag can bring a saucy smile to your fans’ faces … and always double-check party invites from Mr Sheeran.
#DontKillSeanBean
Of course, Ed isn’t the only brand to go viral from an amusing hashtag. Step forward American broadcaster TNT, which promoted TV show ‘Legends’ with the amusing #DontKillSeanBean hashtag.
As fans of ‘Lord of The Rings’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ will know, any character played by the proud Yorkshireman has a life expectancy about as long as the queue for Champions League tickets at Old Trafford.
TNT played on this little known fact, stirring up some excitement and a few laughs along the way.
What kind of job is that, exactly?
For every cleverly worded hashtag there’s a million that could have done with a little more time at the drawing board. Take this absolute howler from American computer brand Research In Motion – developers of millennial’s favourite smartphone the BlackBerry.
Picture the scene, a busy HR executive is hiring and takes to social media to advertise new opportunities. The full name of the company is a bit clunky so instead of typing ‘Research In Motion’ they go for ‘RIM’. Less is more on social media, and they settle on the hashtag #RIMjobs. Just let that sink in.