Strange things happen on Twitter. It's to be expected, with millions of users having an open stream of communication to their favorite celebs and brands.
Take Hasan Syed, for example, who wanted the world to know about his dislike for British Airways so much that he bought a promoted tweet just to bash them.
See also: The 10 Most Epic Celebrity Twitter Fights
But social media is a two-way conversation, and for every angrily posted tweet, there's a brand using Twitter to humanize its image and increase consumer loyalty. These epic brand "battles" may not be as dramatic or snarky as celebrity feuds, but when brands bring their social media savvy — and sass — to the table, everybody wins.
Here are the best cases of brands bringing their Twitter A-game.
Smart Cars take a lot of abuse. They may cost less than the average car and help save the environment, but let's face it — they're essentially the Biology Club nerds of the highway.
So when Twitter user Clayton Hove publicly dissed the brand with this tweet, saying that one bird turd totaled one of the two-seater energy savers:
Saw a bird had crapped on a Smart Car.
Totaled it.
— Clayton Hove (@adtothebone) June 17, 2012
...Smart Car had a graph to prove him wrong. Because, SCIENCE.
Couldn’t have been one bird, @adtothebone. Sounds more like 4.5 million. (Seriously, we did the math.) pic.twitter.com/aLYScFR3
— Official smart USA (@smartcarusa) June 19, 2012
Yeah, science!
Oreo's social media presence has impressed us before, but when Oreo posted this tweet in September 2012:
Ever bring your own Oreo cookies to the movie theater? #slicksnacker
— Oreo Cookie (@Oreo) September 25, 2012
...it was AMC Theatres that put "Milk's Favorite Cookie" in its place:
NOT COOL, COOKIE. RT @Oreo: Ever bring your own Oreo cookies to the movie theater? #slicksnacker
— AMC Theatres (@AMCTheatres) September 25, 2012
Oreo followed up with a "don't hate the player, hate the game" response, but AMC emerged as the clear victor here.
When Laura Ellen mentioned Oreo and Kit-Kat in her tweet: "Can tell I like chocolate abit too much when I'm following @KITKAT and @Oreo hahahahahah," she didn't realize her brand loyalty meant so much.
That is until Kit-Kat, like a gentleman of honor, challenged Oreo to a duel for her affection in a very brand-appropriate game of Tic Tac Toe.
The fight for @Laura_ellenxx's affections is on. @oreo your move #haveabreak http://t.co/EN8YAfnNMZ
— KITKAT (@KITKAT) March 13, 2013
This one could have gone many ways, with fans encouraging the two brands to duke it out on the Tic Tac Toe board, but Oreo chose the safest, funniest and most unexpected route: a compliment to Kit-Kat.
Sorry, @kitkat we couldn't resist ... #GiveOreoABreak pic.twitter.com/iMXjChetOa
— Oreo Cookie (@Oreo) March 13, 2013
Oreo even tweaked Kit-Kat's catchphrase for a little jab at themselves. That's a win all around.
Thanks to clever commercials, Old Spice has been a favorite among consumers for some time. This Twitter battle with Taco Bell, however, takes the cake for us.
It starts with Old Spice making an offhand comment about the recipe for Taco Bell's "fire sauce."
Why is it that "fire sauce" isn't made with any real fire? Seems like false advertising.
— Old Spice (@OldSpice) July 9, 2012
Within minutes, Taco Bell had the perfect response:
@OldSpice Is your deodorant made with really old spices?
— Taco Bell (@TacoBell) July 9, 2012
And even though Old Spice shot back with this little quip:
@TacoBell Depends. Do you consider volcanos, tanks and freedom to be spices?
— Old Spice (@OldSpice) July 9, 2012
...we still think Taco Bell brought the fire on this one.
Travel deal rivals Orbitz and Priceline met in the Twitter arena in November 2012 for an election-themed face-off between the Priceline Negotiator (William Shatner) and Orbitz Spokesman Walt.
As Priceline attempted to circulate the #Negotiator4President hashtag, Orbitz sent out this reply:
“Hey #Negotiator4President, glad you threw your hat in the ring. Mine was there first. And it’s a sombrero.” - Walt #OrbitzVacationParty
— Orbitz (@Orbitz) November 1, 2012
It provided Priceline the chance to respond with what we consider to be the trump card in any argument: Shatner in a sombrero.
Nice try @Orbitz’s candidate, Walt, but no one wears a sombrero like the Negotiator. Game On. #Negotiator4President pic.twitter.com/TVPJCjyx
— Priceline.com (@priceline) November 1, 2012
Not to be outdone, Orbitz rebutted with this picture, proving which spokesmen really had the least amount of shame.
So you can play dress up, @Priceline Negotiator. Let's see you dress down. #OrbitzVacationParty pic.twitter.com/IZ1EXUfG
— Orbitz (@Orbitz) November 1, 2012
As the election-themed battle continued, Orbitz didn't miss the opportunity to remind followers to vote in the actual 2012 presidential election, making this little feud entertaining and useful.
What brands would you love to see duke it out on Twitter? Let us know in the comments.
Image: Flickr, Curtis Pitter