#McDStories: When A Hashtag Becomes A Bashtag

Here's a cautionary tale for the corporate social media consultants of the world. Last week, McDonald's launched a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #McDStories; it was hoping that the hashtag would inspire heart-warming stories about Happy Meals. Instead, it attracted snarky tweeps and McDonald's detractors who turned it into a #bashtag to share their #McDHorrorStories.

Sample tweets:

-- Dude, I used to work at McDonald's. The #McDStories I could tell would raise your hair. (via Twitter)

-- One time I walked into McDonalds and I could smell Type 2 diabetes floating in the air and I threw up. #McDStories (via Twitter)

-- These #McDStories never get old, kinda like a box of McDonald's 10 piece Chicken McNuggets left in the sun for a week (via the LA Times)

-- The promoted TT  of #McDStories isn't going the direction I think @mcdonalds wanted it to go. Lots of weed stories and heart attack jokes. (via Paid Content)

-- Ate a McFish and vomited 1 hour later....The last time I got McDonalds was seriously 18 years ago in college..... #McDstories (via Twitter)

-- #McDStories I lost 50lbs in 6 months after I quit working and eating at McDonald's (via The Daily Mail)

McDonald's had paid for the privilege of having their hashtag promoted on the Twitter homepage, but they quickly realized this wasn't helping their brand. The Los Angeles Times reports that they pulled the campaign within two hours. But they discovered that crowd-sourced campaigns are hard to control (or stop). The #McDStories hashtag is still gathering steam, according to data from Trendistic.

“As Twitter continues to evolve its platform and engagement opportunities, we’re learning from our experiences,” Rick Wion, McDonald's social media director, said in a statement to the L.A. Times. As for this campaign, McDonald's certainly isn't lovin' it.

Hat tip: Eric Savitz

Update: Alexis Madrigal at the Atlantic congratulates me on the invention of a new social media term.