J.C. Penney tweeted some really bizarre stuff during the Super Bowl and many Twitter folks suspected that the legendary department store chain had been taken over by an alcohol-impaired social media manager (or hacker). But not so. J.C. Penney actually planned their odd Super Bowl Tweets and it was for a very cool reason. The fun started with this Tweet:
We’re ready for the big game no matter the temp. Staying warm thanks to #TeamUSA mittens! http://t.co/xzB8FLljox pic.twitter.com/pqocEbkC9K
? JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 2, 2014
Here are some of the kooky J.C. Penney tweets:
Who kkmew theis was ghiong tob e a baweball ghamle. #lowsscorinh 5_0
? JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 2, 2014
Who kkmew theis was ghiong tob e a baweball ghamle. #lowsscorinh 5_0
? JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 2, 2014
The Twitter-verse was concerned:
Is @jcpenney drunk pic.twitter.com/JFptM1Wu7O
? Robert Herbst (@RobWHerbst) February 3, 2014
Well….@jcpenney might want to drink water for the rest of the game… pic.twitter.com/h39rccVyFe
? Channel 96-1 (@channel961) February 3, 2014
I’ll have some of whatever @jcpenney is having pic.twitter.com/J42t7CDxhV
? Drunk Aubie (@DrunkAubie) February 3, 2014
I think the fired CEO for @jcpenney might still have the Twitter password. pic.twitter.com/6jmgmPH2wm
? Amanda Bower (@heyprofbow) February 3, 2014
J.C. Penney kept the mystery going for about two hours and finally revealed that they were “tweeting with mittens” deliberately because they were promoting their Team USA mittens in advance of the winter Olympics.
Oops…Sorry for the typos. We were #TweetingWithMittens. Wasn’t it supposed to be colder? Enjoy the game! #GoTeamUSA pic.twitter.com/e8GvnTiEGl
? JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 3, 2014
THATIS IT From now on were ll tweetning with mtitens #tweetingwithmittens pic.twitter.com/XKJ3GMrsZn
? Good Morning America (@GMA) February 3, 2014
From Buzzfeed:
“We knew Twitter would be very active but wanted to find a way to stay above the Super Bowl fray and instead create our own narrative,? Kate Coultas, a spokeswoman for J.C. Penney, told BuzzFeed in an e-mail. ?Given it was cold, and we are selling Go USA mittens ? we thought it could be a fun stunt!? For those wondering if J.C. Penney was trying to cover its tracks, its social media and mobile director noted on Twitter that he was, in fact, ?stone-cold-sober? while sending the tweets.
As one Twitter user said:
Who the hell follows JC Penney on Twitter
? Jason Kirk (@JasonKirkSBN) February 3, 2014
Who follows J.C. Penney? Probably a few more people than were following them yesterday. Well played, J.C. Penney.