Read on Twitter
Interesting looking at a certain coffee cup promotion of "Alberta health heroes". Local company puts local Doctors and Professors and people of note on mugs (drawn by local artist) without permission, using quotes from 1/9
interviews and twitter streams of said people. Then use popular hashtags to sell those mugs at a profit. Looking at their other campaigns, they've done similar exercises using big, local news to move product (Joey Moss, Fuck Kenney, COVID-19, etc). 2/9
The Joey Moss campaign was to raise $ but there's plenty of margin to make a buck and I don't see any reporting or accountability regarding the amount raised. They jump in with at least one #RealTalkRJ which is trending heavily locally, likely looking for a mention from Jespo.3/9
When called out for using @UbakaOgbogu's image without permission, they quickly removed the mug they were selling but kept the rest and replaced his with another. Now, their "leader" is "going live" this afternoon to discuss the issue. 4/9
When you see it on Twitter one campaign at a time, it looks harmless, even supportive of an important cause. When you look at the account stream or their website, you see a pattern of 5/9
cashing in on tragedy, fear, and even death. Why "going live"? Why not just remove the offending campaigns, apologize, and resolve to do better? I get that breaking news and acting quickly can get lots of views 6/9
as I've built sites reacting to breaking news (accommodation help, minimum wage rollbacks). Those hashtags can get a lot of attention to a site, but I bent over backwards to ensure I got nothing from those projects. I was there to help and was transparent. 7/9
I don't think it's malicious, but it's definitely opportunistic. All I can suggest is that before you buy that trending topic swag, you look into where it's coming from and where the money is going. What might seem supportive may very well just be a corporate venture. 8/9
Nothing wrong with making a buck if it's honest, but if it's wrapped in talk about heroes and provincial pride, it might just be a wolf in sheep's clothing. 9/9
