Brands awkwardly crash LeBron’s homecoming

At long last, the wait is over. LeBron James announced in an exclusive open letter on Sports Illustrated’s homepage that he will be returning to NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers.

Under a banner headline “I’m Coming Home” on si.com, free agent James announced his decision.

“Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio. It’s where I walked. It’s where I ran. It’s where I cried. It’s where I bled. It holds a special place in my heart. People there have seen me grow up.”

And as Twitter erupted with fans cheering, jeering and making jokes, several big brands saw an opportunity to jack the news for some real-time marketing. Here’s how a few of them handled King James’ proclamation — usually with more bricks than dunks:

Beats By Dre

LeBron is a Beats by Dre spokesman, so this is a tweet that does exactly what it sets out to do. Congratulates the man in a classy way while subtly reminding followers he can be seen sporting their headphones.

McDonald’s

LeBron is also a McDonald’s spokesman, so this tweet makes sense.

Quicken Loans

And Quicken Loans has its name on the stadium where the Cavaliers play. So, they too felt compelled to weigh in, if a little awkwardly.

Progressive

If this is what passes for “progressive,” we think it’s high time for a regression. (See what we did there?)

KFC

Very clever, fried chicken chain. Understated yet clear, restrained yet direct.

DiGiorno Pizza

Normally a deft real-time tweeter, DiGiorno issued this non sequitur of a reaction. Is “pizza getting eaten in Cleveland” a euphamism for something?

Hamburger Helper

Hats off to Hamburger Helper for the semi-obscure Biggie referance, but we’re pretty sure the locale he name dropped in the song was, in fact, California. Starts with a C, we guess.

Denny’s

Denny’s what does this even mean?

Cottonelle

Cottonelle falls completely flat with this transparent attempt to glom onto the news with an uninspired pitch. The toilet paper company needs to sit down and take a lesson from a competitor that truly gets Twitter …

Charmin


OK, Charmin, you win. You’re gross, but you win.

https://digiday.com/?p=80719

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