Major news can’t spread on Twitter anymore without brands big and small adding their two cents in an attempt to newsjack the situation.
And today’s news that NBA superstar Lebron James is returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers is no exception. King James, as he’s called, began his career with his hometown Cavaliers then left four years ago to form a dream team with the Miami Heat that won two NBA titles (and lost two others).
Those themes are popular among the brand tweets we’ve found so far in the couple hours since Lebron’s announcement went public. Orbitz and Barbasol tweeted on the “coming home” theme, while Sherwin-Williams praised Lebron for his color choice by showing the Cavaliers primary colors among its paint options.
I guess traveling is allowed in Basketball #cominghome #imcominghome #thekingisback http://t.co/Tg1ZQ22S9u pic.twitter.com/m2U2fiQOpT — Orbitz (@Orbitz) July 11, 2014
@KingJames As an Ohio-based company, we'd like to say… Welcome Home. #TheKingIsBack #barbasol — Barbasol (@ShaveLikeAMan) July 11, 2014
Nice color choice, @KingJames. #TheKingIsBack pic.twitter.com/QakK4zvn2q — Sherwin-Williams (@SherwinWilliams) July 11, 2014
Food brands jumped in pretty quickly, including McDonald’s, which counts Lebron as a spokesperson and has been running a commercial in recent months about a secret restaurant where he and other celebrities eat.
Looks like the secret is out, our undisclosed club is in Cleveland. Welcome home, @KingJames. #BaconClubhouse #ad: http://t.co/w8kXemUjPN — McDonald's (@McDonalds) July 11, 2014
lot of pizza getting eaten in Cleveland rn #WelcomeHomeLebron — DiGiorno Pizza (@DiGiornoPizza) July 11, 2014
We are melting in anticipation @KingJames!! #TheKingisBack pic.twitter.com/wnTq61QnY5 — Applebee's (@Applebees) July 11, 2014
if only you would have signed with *us*, king james, if only. we coulda been a contender, we coulda been somebody… — Denny's (@DennysDiner) July 11, 2014
This coupon site focused on the money that the Miami Heat are saving by not having Lebron on its team.
It’s official! @KingJames is going back to Cleveland… Saved the @MiamiHeat about $20.5 million this year #TheKingIsBack — Colupon (@OfficialColupon) July 11, 2014
The NFL chimed in with a tweet showcasing Lebron with one of its well-known rookies, Johnny Manziel, who’s on the Cleveland Browns football teams.
Cleveland rocks. pic.twitter.com/PgEXwWCIMf — NFL (@nfl) July 11, 2014
But for me, the two most bizarre tweets came from toilet paper companies. Both Charmin and Cottonelle managed to turn Lebron’s return to Cleveland into promotions/messages about using the toilet. I mean … really?
LeBron James is returning to Cleveland. Lesson: Stick with what works, like Cottonelle TP and Flushable Wipes — Cottonelle (@cottonelle) July 11, 2014
Looks like the king is returning his "throne" back to Cleveland. The internet is officially in meltdown & blowout mode. #tweetfromtheseat — Charmin (@Charmin) July 11, 2014
Those two companies have a pretty solid history of staying on message like this when trying to newsjack, so their tweets aren’t a surprise. And some of their previous efforts have been pretty funny, in my opinion. But today? These two just kinda … stink. (wink wink nudge nudge)
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