Retailer House of Fraser posted a series of emoji-filled tweets on Monday as part of their new Emojinal campaign.
LONDON — House of Fraser’s latest social media campaign — #Emojinal — was trending on Twitter on Monday, but for all the wrong reasons.
The UK department store’s campaign, which kicked off Monday morning, backfired dramatically after a series of cryptic, emoji-filled tweets led customers to believe that the retailer had been hacked.
The first tweet featuring three lone emoji was nothing short of baffling.
— House of Fraser (@houseoffraser) February 1, 2016
It was swiftly followed by an inexplicable reference to Kim Kardashian’s bottom…
Practice what you peach @KanyeWest! pic.twitter.com/yt6UQALdMv
— House of Fraser (@houseoffraser) February 1, 2016
…a shout-out to birthday boy Harry Styles…
#OhNoSimon Not on my Birthday! @Harry_Styles pic.twitter.com/c6lUiXOSXv
— House of Fraser (@houseoffraser) February 1, 2016
… and a heartfelt, if slightly bizarre, endorsement of Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Revenant performance.
Leo¹s not tooting his own horn or anything, but @RevenantMovie deserves an Oscar! @LeoDiCaprio #SagAwards pic.twitter.com/CPaE0Ipuop
— House of Fraser (@houseoffraser) February 1, 2016
Customers were confused by the retailer’s emoji-filled outburst, with many expressing concerns that House of Fraser’s Twitter account had been hacked.
Can someone clarify – is this @houseoffraser thing real or have they been hacked?! What the hell is going on over there…. #Emojinal
— Elle Bloggs (@ElleBloggs) February 1, 2016
While others wondered if the blame lay with House of Fraser’s social media manager.
Think the person running the @houseoffraser twitter account has either cracked or is still drunk from the weekend.
— Lee Robson (@LeeRobson23) February 1, 2016
No matter how bad your Monday is, remember this, you’re not in charge of @houseoffraser‘s Twitter feed #Emojinal
— Chloe Salisbury (@chloesway) February 1, 2016
The person running the @houseoffraser Twitter feed right now. #Emojinal pic.twitter.com/RL31wWioM0
— Kieran (@kieranm22) February 1, 2016
However, all were united in their belief that House of Fraser’s campaign was a lesson in the art of how not to run a marketing campaign.
Wow. #Emojinal is a masterclass on how to ruin a century-old upscale brand with one terrible social media campaign.
— Holly Brockwell (@holly) February 1, 2016
Whats worse; someone pitched #emojinal or someone approved it? (@houseoffraser )
— Jason Dexter (@iamjasondexter) February 1, 2016
Mashable has reached out to House of Fraser for some insight.
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