Hello, December! It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the final month in 2017.
Here’s what’s on tap for today: a big brand’s social media mishap, someone’s shocked reaction to the royal engagement, WeWork’s latest acquisition, a spooky White House Christmas, Snapchat’s big redesign, a cute new Christmas ad that answers some lingering questions, and an interview with Bono, co-creator of (RED), talking about World AIDS day.
Jimmy Kimmel Interviews Bono About the Fight Against AIDS
Wendy’s hits McDonald’s with an epic burn on Twitter after Black Friday social mishap
If you missed the fast-food drama last Thursday, we’re here to fill you in. Someone on McDonald’s social media team made a serious social faux pas:
Black Friday **** Need copy and link****
— McDonald's Corporation (@McDonaldsCorp) November 24, 2017
The next day, Wendy’s decided to take advantage of the burger chain’s slip up:
When the tweets are as broken as the ice cream machine. https://t.co/esdndK1iFm
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) November 24, 2017
Talk about rubbing salt in the wound. Thankfully, McDonald’s took it in stride and even poked a little fun at themselves in light of situation:
When you tweet before your first cup of McCafé… Nothing comes before coffee. pic.twitter.com/aPJ2ZupS9b
— McDonald's Corporation (@McDonaldsCorp) November 24, 2017
Facebook will temporarily stop advertisers from excluding certain races
On Wednesday, Facebook announced it will be temporarily disabling the ability for advertisers to exclude racial groups in targeting. As shared by Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, the social network is determined to “do better” following a news report that demonstrated its failure to block discriminatory ads.
It is unlawful under US law to publish ads that indicate preference based on race, religion, sex or other certain classifications. Sandberg said that advertisers who use Facebook’s targeting options to include certain races will have to confirm that they are complying with Facebook’s anti-discrimination policy and with applicable law.
Snapchat’s redesign is here
On Wednesday, Snapchat’s much-anticipated redesign launched. The new format borrows a major page from Facebook’s book, serving up content to users based on algorithms.
The update separates the app into two separate feeds. One feed ranks friends based on the level of interaction you have with them. The other suggests community and publisher content based on your interests. Say goodbye to your Stories feed — the new design has Friends (Chat plus Stories from friends) and Discover (Stories from publishers and community).
But the biggest change is actually found behind the feed. Historically, the app has organized content chronologically instead of based on user interests. Snapchat also reversed its course on influencers and said they’ll be introducing better distribution and monetization options in 2018.
The redesign will roll out slowly to users over the coming weeks.
Meghan Markle’s TV fiance had the best response to her engagement news
While Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s engagement has been the talk of social media this week, one particular comment has stood out from the rest. Actor Patrick J. Adams (Suits’ Mike Ross) took to Twitter to express his somewhat shocked reaction to the news:
She said she was just going out to get some milk… https://t.co/y7cnM0eC9D
— Patrick J Adams (@halfadams) November 27, 2017
Sounds like Markle’s Suits character has some explaining to do! All kidding aside, Adams’s congratulatory message to the happy couple was totally sweet:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcArAhyFYkF/
WeWork to acquire Meetup
More news in biz acquisitions this week — WeWork has reportedly purchased Meetup, a New York City-based startup community platform. According to Meetup CEO Scott Heiferman, the acquisition will allow the company to double in size.
To date, the startup has 35 million members and over 300,000 “IRL” community meetups. The platform’s entire purpose is to help people with real ideas connect in real life to make things happen, whether it be to explore the city, build careers or get creative.
Christmas at the White House is a little scary this year
The Trumps have done away with traditional green and red for Christmas this year, instead going for a “winter wonderland” theme. While the idea sounds like a good one, the result is actually a little scary:
https://twitter.com/StephGrisham45/status/934945910467031041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pajiba.com%2Fhorror%2Fchristmas-at-the-white-house-is-a-horror-show.php%3Futm_source%3Dlaineygossip.com%26utm_medium%3Dreferral%26utm_campaign%3Dpubexchange_article
Needless to say, the memes created as a result are pretty great:
Merry Christmas from the White House. pic.twitter.com/Cksvri76F5
— Kristy Puchko (@KristyPuchko) November 27, 2017
https://twitter.com/MattGoldberg/status/935237776013975553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pajiba.com%2Fhorror%2Fchristmas-at-the-white-house-is-a-horror-show.php%3Futm_source%3Dlaineygossip.com%26utm_medium%3Dreferral%26utm_campaign%3Dpubexchange_article
why do the White House Christmas decorations look like Voldemort is about to come back pic.twitter.com/nF0GxCaxUq
— Kate Gray (@hownottodraw) November 27, 2017
Friday Fun
21 years later, M&Ms releases a sequel to that cliffhanger Christmas ad
We all remember that classic M&Ms Christmas commercial — Santa Claus and Red have fainted and the fate of Christmas is in Yellow’s hands. So what happened next? We finally have some answers:
