Golf Channel Co-Opts MLK Speech in Social Media Screwup
This morning, the Golf Channel took a swing at maximizing the marketing opportunities around Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech and hit a shot straight into the trees.
.This morning, the Golf Channel took a swing at maximizing the marketing opportunities around Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech and hit a shot straight into the trees.
The Golf Channel tweeted this around 11:40 a.m. Eastern Wednesday morning:
The shameless display of social media marketing quickly made the rounds on Twitter before it was deleted 25 minutes later. (Screengrabs continue to circulate.) Some people were just plain shocked:
Oh my. Not sure this is a good idea. https://t.co/NhJwWCLMd4 pic.twitter.com/72qrFWROYm
— Jay Yarow (@jyarow) August 28, 2013
oh lord https://t.co/66Kq6h6BlT
— Walter Hickey (@WaltHickey) August 28, 2013
Others tried to explain why the tweet was problematic by playing along:
I have a dream that I didn't read this tweet: https://t.co/mZInKs5TlL
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 28, 2013
While at least a few people called the sport of golf itself out for its poor history with race relations:
That Augusta heard it before 1990 RT @GolfChannel: Tweet your ‘golf’ dream on the 50th anniversary of MLK’s ‘I have a Dream’ speech
— Harrison Mooney (@HarrisonMooney) August 28, 2013
That the golf world have fewer clueless fuckwits RT @GolfChannel: Tweet your ‘golf’ dream on 50th anniversary of MLK ‘I have a Dream’ speech
— David Brauer (@dbrauer) August 28, 2013
Others expressed straight-up outrage: