The Adidas Social Media Blunder

Social media has transformed marketing from a one$-$directional broadcast to an interactive experience between businesses and their customers. User$-$generated content $($UGC$)$ is often seen as more authentic and trustworthy than corporate content. Sponsored blog posts, product placement in Instagram, and Twitter hashtags are common examples of UGC. When done well, UGC can create genuine interactions with customers that increase brand loyalty. But when an organization relinquishes control of its message to others, it must be vigilant about protecting its reputation.

Adidas learned this message in $2019$ when it unleased the #DareToCreate campaign. $81$ Users who used the hashtag were rewarded with a response from Adidas saying "This is home. Welcome to the squad." Artificial intelligence inserted the user's Twitter handle into an image of jerseys for the Arsenal $($U$.$K$.)$ football team. But the company did not expect users to troll the company by creating racist and antiSemitic usernames, which made it appear that the company endorsed the offensive messages