From ESPN to United, Another Big Social Media Week

April 28, 2017

Lately, it seems like getting on an airplane is a bad idea – whether you’re a giant bunny (really bad idea) or a stroller-toting mother of twins (leading to PR success for American Airlines). Get your popcorn (or pretzels) ready, turn off SportsCenter and get that arm loose because here are

some of the hottest trending topics from the past week:

  • Hey, you throw like a girl! NFL teams might need to add a new face to the draft board as WNBA number one pick Kelsey Plum took the internet by storm after her tremendous t-shirt throw at the Spurs game went viral
  • There are too many strollers on this plane (Samuel L. Jackson voice): American Airlines had its own phone-filmed customer service meltdown to deal with; see how they avoided making a bad PR situation way, way worse. Take notes, United (please)!
  • More like NO “Hare”: United’s PR team was surely hopping mad when they learned that a potentially world record-breaking giant rabbit died in the cargo hold on a flight from London to (yep, again) O’Hare, the scene of the previous incident.  
  • The Worldwide Leader in Mass Layoffs? ESPN made huge waves this week when it very publicly fired approximately 100 staff members, many of whom were recognizable on-air talent or reporters (and personally announced their own firings on social media) – causing a broader conversation about the future of the network and sports media in general.
  • Don’t get it twisted: Most were not salty about this delicious day, as brands, restaurants, celebs and everyone else on social media shared the pretzel pandemonium. But someone did have an issue…