Brands want you to know they know it’s Presidents Day

By Saya Weissman • February 17, 2014 •

Today is, of course, a holiday — a fact that many brands feel compelled to bring to our attention.

Whether it was part of a stunt or not, Groupon may have won the day this morning by sending out a Presidents Day promotion for $10 off a $40 purchase from local businesses in honor of “President Alexander Hamilton.” Of course, Hamilton was never, like, you know, actually president. When called out on it, the company replied “you’re certainly entitled to your opinion.”

If it was a ploy for attention, it worked. The company subsequently sent out tongue-in-cheek press release and pointed its Twitter followers to a newly created account @PrezHamilton, which has in the Twitter bio “Maybe bad with pistols. Lover of a good deal.”

And of course, Groupon isn’t the only brand that’s using the presidential holiday as social media fodder.

Check out these other examples other brands getting in on the Presidents Day Twitter action:

Airbnb

George Washington slept here—now you can too. https://t.co/qt6cYIi3oc #travel #history

— Airbnb (@Airbnb) February 17, 2014

Airbnb has gotten good at sending out rental listings at just the right moment, as it did for those complaining about poor lodging conditions in Sochi. Apparently George Washington was known for sleeping around, so this probably isn’t the only place you can share a bed with the first president.

Dove Men+Care

Keep your President’s Day irritation-free with our antiperspirant deodorant. pic.twitter.com/qpsE4tvJ1Q — Dove Men+Care (@DoveMenCare) February 17, 2014

Those of us sitting at work are having a difficult time indeed remaining irritation-free, Dove. And you’re not helping.

Hostess

I cannot tell a lie. I totally demolished those Cherry Fruit Pies. #PresidentsDay pic.twitter.com/po1jYLVZ3S — Hostess Snacks (@Hostess_Snacks) February 17, 2014

Pretty cute, Hostess, with your little rhyme. And plus one for upping the stock art game here.

Quaker Oats

Such a great birthday month for some old friends! Happy President’s Day! – Larry — QuakerOats (@Quaker) February 17, 2014

We had to look up who “Larry” is — apparently “Larry” is what Quaker “insiders” call the Quaker dude featured in the brand’s logo. He is apparently based on William Penn, the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, whose name is not Larry. What remains unclear is who his old friends might be, since Penn died when Benjamin Franklin and George Washington were still kids. Not a great tweet.

AT&T

Happy 282nd birthday to the first POTUS. Still got it. #PresidentsDay https://t.co/92qWhaDTee — AT&T (@ATT) February 17, 2014

AT&T got creative with Vine. Pretty cute, actually.

American Airlines

Flashback! Former @AmericanAir CEO C.R. Smith with his good friend, Franklin D. Roosevelt. #PresidentsDay pic.twitter.com/twDvoknDOU — American Airlines (@AmericanAir) February 17, 2014

This was an appropriate way to chime in about a holiday and tie in a vintage image that has to do with the brand’s heritage. It’s also a pretty cool photo.

McDonald’s

If life is what you make of it, then am I allowed to make life into one giant #BigMac? Man, life sounds delicious. pic.twitter.com/G5C6QwL3qI — McDonald’s (@McDonalds) February 17, 2014

Is this supposed to be a riff on a presidential quote? Who is that a picture of, anyway? Looks vaguely like a young Robespierre, which, you know, wrong continent. How about you just stick to tweeting about the Olympics and chicken nuggets, OK?

Denny’s