Dive Brief:
- The New York GOP is the latest entity to jump on the "50 Shades of Grey" bandwagon.
- The party tweeted a photo Tuesday that photoshopped Al Sharpton and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio into what looks like an ad for the sexually charged, R-rated film
- Quickly, the tweet received backlash from followers claiming the post was inappropriate.
You've heard of #50ShadesOfGrey? Well here's 50 Shades of Bill: http://t.co/mzUWArCr1w pic.twitter.com/Jfi3yBlQZ2
— New York GOP (@NewYorkGOP) February 17, 2015
Dive Insight:
The New York GOP isn't the first brand to make "50 Shades" reference that seemed a bit of a stretch. Family-friendly brands like Walmart have jumped on the bandwagon of the book—which has sold over 100 million copies—and now the movie. This tweet could very well be a case of group think where no one questions whether the photo was in bad taste. Hopefully the GOP learns a lesson from the mistake. It also just goes to show that just because something is particularly buzzworthy or popular, doesn't mean all marketers or creative teams should jump in on the hype—sometimes it's best to keep quiet and stick to what you know.
