The country is still in shock and mourning over last week’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Some companies and brands opted to send their condolences; others chose the sensible route of just staying quiet.
You would think by now that brands would understand how social media works and that brand would understand a certain necessary level of human decency and respect in the wake of disasters and tragedies. But no. Apparently these are things that some brands still need to work on.
Here are some examples embarrassing, distasteful and completely inappropriate brand responses to the Sandy Hook massacre.
Mutual of Omaha: Probably not the best time to be reminding people about purchasing life insurance for their families. 
(Image via @ianfitzpatrick)
Kmart: Hopefully this was a dumb copy and paste error and a lack of proof reading. Either way it’s bad and another reason why brands should just keep quiet and let people mourn in peace. 
(Image via @blagica)
NRA: It’s one thing to be respectfully quiet and it’s another to shut down your social media presence in order to hide. The usually vocal NRA has gone cowardly silent on social media in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting. It has taken down its Facebook page and the last tweet on it’s Twitter account on Dec. 14 was about its holiday giveaway. 
(Image via @nra)
More in Marketing
Why marketers shouldn’t follow Unilever’s plans to work with ’20 times’ more influencers just yet
The creator economy isn’t just another media channel but an ecosystem all its own with potential hazards along the way.
Despite the uncertainty, some advertisers like Coca-Cola and Comcast have increased their TikTok spend this year
Seven large advertisers have increased their U.S. social media spend on the platform during Q1 2025.
WFA sees 54% of multinational brands boosting influencer spending — with more relying on agencies to find creators
With influencer marketing budgets steadily rising, more multinational brands are increasingly partnering with influencer agencies to identify creators as the industry becomes more complex.