Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Netflix Twitter Shade

Twitter has become a major social media platform for companies to advertise and connect directly with consumers. Companies such as Wendy's have used the platform to throw shade at competitors, replying to tweets with witty comments to suggest that the competition's products are garbage. Recently, Netflix and Hulu joined in on the shade-fest. After Hulu posted a tweet urging users to try their service that includes shows streaming only on their platform, Netflix clapped back with a tweet of their own.

For anyone unfamiliar with the reference in Netflix's tweet, it is a line from the recent Netflix hit drama, 13 Reasons Why. The show is about a girl who leaves behind tapes detailing the people and reasons behind her suicide. Twitter users have been using the quote, "Welcome to your tape," to make jokes about anyone who has wronged them in any way - usually something as small as a co-worker eating their food from the refrigerator. However, Netflix's use of the joke was met with criticism. 



But while some users found the tweet to be an insensitive joke about a serious topic, others found it amusing, including the sass master itself, Wendy's.



So what do you think? Does Netflix deserve criticism or praise? On the one hand, it made use of one of its own shows to hit back at a competitor, achieving both advertising and defense of the brand. On the other hand, the show that Netflix used just happens to be about teenage suicide. Was the joke witty or ill-mannered? Does Netflix owe an apology or should the tweet stand?

4 comments:

  1. Netflix is not making the best choice with their tweets here. While the quote belongs to a show that was made by Netflix, the very fact that suicide is the main premise of the show merits a little bit more respect. Netflix is a huge corporation with a ton of fans, and even tapping into a social issue like suicide puts them at risk for judgement. At the end of the day, the tweet wasn't made with much class. There are other ways to clap back at your competitors than by incorporating sick humor. Even looking at it from a business perspective, the potential gain from the tweet doesn't compare to the potential loss caused by people who will find it offensive. Try a different angle next time, Netflix.

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  2. Yes, the show is about teen suicide. However, the show is still just a show. No matter how many political criticisms or social issues a show or movie may tackle, it is still just that. A show. Netflix is still JUST what it is. An entertainment corporation. Key word here: entertainment. While I'm not being close-minded to the point of view of Netflix's tweet being 'insensitive,' I made another point in a comment on another article about how people need to stop trying to find things to offend them. It was a tweet. That's it. It was a quote from a show that they own the rights to. At bare-bones value, that's it. There's really nothing anyone should read into more than just those facts. The show has popularized so many memes by users on apps such as iFunny, The Chive, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram...so why is no one judging these people? Where are the crucifixions of those meme-artists? Nowhere. So why crucify Netflix just because they are more well known than John Doe sitting behind a computer screen in his bedroom making a meme with the same joke. Let's all grow up just a bit.

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  3. I'd have to agree with Colby, while the tweet can be taken as insensitive, this would fall under the ever growing list of things people choose to get offended by and not so much are. At the end of the day it is a post on a social media outlet, while very public, it is nothing more than the thoughts and opinions of the individual behind the keyboard.

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