Some brands go that little bit further to reply, respond, repost, and even call out keyboard warriors, with smart, witty responses which end up going viral. So, we’re going to take you through some previous social battles between brands and some social pages which are just doing it right!

M&S vs Aldi

We all know the Colin the Caterpillar saga. With pretty much every single supermarket selling it’s own version, M&S took legal action against Aldi’s Cuthbert, but the debate was settled in court and Cuthbert stayed on the shelves. It would be a boring blog if we stopped there!

This year M&S seems to have been entangled in a copyright row with The Craft Beer Co after graphic T-shirts appeared in stores with The Beer Cos logos on them. The Craft Beer Co. took to Twitter to say “Hey @marksandspencer what’s the idea with these t-shirts!? Can we expect a royalties cheque in the post? Surely one iconic British Institution shouldn’t be ripping off another!! “

As the news broke on the BBC News Twitter feed, Aldi were there, as proud as punch with the classic “OH HOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED” showcasing just how deep the lawsuit between the two has embedded in their relationship.

Bravo to the Aldi social team for always keeping a relevant social media presence! Long may ‘rivalries’ such as this continue!

Burger King vs McDonald’s

Despite McDonald’s boasting twice as many restaurants, five times the ad budget and ten times the revenue, Burger King’s marketing innovations have had a lasting impact. (Marketing Dive, 2022)

A particular campaign by Burger King will go down in history as one of the smartest campaigns ever. And it was really quite simple!

Burger King essentially just put a Big Mac in every photo they published all year. That’s it. Or so it seems.

To highlight that the Whopper is a much more generous size than a Big Mac, Burger King decided to hide a Big Mac behind every image of a Whopper, showcasing the sheer size difference. Simple but effective, yes. A loss for McDonalds’, yes.

Well played Burger King!

Ryanair – Twitter

Right, where could we possibly start? The king of staying relevant, the Ryanair Twitter account is a goldmine of as-it-happens satire, with trends being discussed as and when they are happening.

Let’s take Eurovision as an example. Throughout the evening, Ryanair were tweeting along with the acts, tweets relevant to their business with a fun twist. 3 examples are.

But it’s not just satirical humour of current events, Ryanair also love to respond to their loyal customers, from replying to those who were disappointed to not get their window seat, to those who argue over prices, the up-to-date and speed of the replies really stand Ryanair above the rest!

AYBL – LinkedIn

Want to see how one of the fastest-growing brands in the UK spends their days?

AYBL share lots of content across their LinkedIn channel, which is more personal to their brand and their day-to-day working, highlighting what working for the brand is like. From being pushed into social content by their content creation team to shoot days and birthdays. The content on their LinkedIn channel would highlight all the reasons anyone would want to work for them!

Innocent Drinks – Twitter

Innocent is the perfect name and the perfect brand image. Like Aldi, they are fantastic on Twitter, especially for live commentary of international events, with them actually doing a full commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest this year. But unlike Aldi, the content is more ‘Innocent’ and wholesome, less looking for laughs and reactions and more incorporating their brand.

Take the Coronation of King Charles III as an example, they tweeted this on the day, bringing together the day, and the brand’s fixation on only using the healthiest ingredients.

Pantone – Instagram

When we think of Instagram, we think of images. And when we think of images, we want them to be aesthetically pleasing. Pantone has aesthetics down to a tee. Using their patented Pantone colours and colour schemes they are able to create art in photo form to highlight the uniqueness of their colour scales.

But away from the stunning imagery, the Pantone colour scale can be used for so much more. Like other channels and brands we have already discussed, Pantone like to use their socials to highlight events and current affairs, such as the Met Gala at the beginning of May. Pantone was able to use their colour scales to put the outfits of the most famous names in fashion into categories, which is both relevant and again, aesthetic in looks!

Summary

We said it at the start and we’ll say it again. Social Media is a minefield. Getting it right is an incredibly rewarding thing, but it’s so easy to get it wrong, and then you’ll find yourself in a world of pain.

Competition with similar brands can be fun and can be light-hearted, but maybe don’t get on the wrong side of M&S, you might find yourself with a lawsuit.

If we can take anything from these examples, we can take the fact that sometimes putting yourself out there can be incredibly effective, and by sticking to your brand’s true values you can really hit your target demographic.