The Little Debbie Tweet That Caused An Uproar
We've been witness to some hilarious social media trends over the years, many of which, to our delight, the social media managers behind a few of our favorite brands have capitalized on. Remember when restaurants were hysterically calling out red flag behavior on Twitter? And who could forget about all of those savage tweets that Wendy's fires off on National Roast Day every year?
We'd certainly file these away as peak entertainment, and our hats are off to the creative minds that came up with these LOL-worthy posts. But, unfortunately, not everybody's take on the various memes of the 21st century has been as much of a smash hit as Dunkin's ode to #ShortKingSpring. Case in point: Little Debbie's attempt at the "One Gotta Go" challenge a few years back (via The Los Angeles Times).
The rules of the game are simple. Participants are presented with four choices under a specific topic, such as 90's sitcoms or pizza toppings, and must pick the one they could live without. Seems harmless, right? Little Debbie seemed to think so, too. However, when the creatives behind the brand's Twitter account decided to get in on the fun in 2017 by presenting their followers with a graphic containing photos of four of its popular products — Christmas Tree Cakes, Nutty Buddies, Oatmeal Creme Pies, and Honey Buns — along with the phrase "One Gotta Go Forever..." they got a little bit more than a spirited debate in the replies.
Some fans took Little Debbie's meme a bit too seriously
Little Debbie's Nutty Buddies, Honey Buns, Christmas Tree Cakes, and Oatmeal Creme Pies have been on the shelves for years, with the latter dating all the way back to 1935 (via Little Debbie's website). Therefore, when the brand asked the Twitterverse which of the four products they could do without as part of the "One Gotta Go" challenge in 2017, some found making the choice understandably hard (via The Los Angeles Times). "This is crazy talk," one person said in response to the controversial tweet. "Error 404 this post can't be found. Please don't try again," quipped another user.
But while most of the 7,400 respondents were ultimately able to realize that the question posed was hypothetical, The Los Angeles Times reported that a few thought they were being serious with its ask, and even threatened to boycott the brand if their favorite snack cake got the ax. "If Oatmeal Cream Pies go I'll never buy another @LittleDebbie product," one passionate Twitterer declared.
Fans got so worried, in fact, that Little Debbie's parent company, McKee Foods, had to issue a statement regarding the tweet, reported by Today. "None of the products we listed on the Twitter post are in danger of going away," a spokesperson assured, noting that the brand was simply looking to have a little bit of fun with the trendy meme. We can see the humor now that the situation has long been over. However, we think we may speak for all Little Debbie fans when we ask: Please don't scare us like that again!