http://twitter.com/#!/TOMolefe/status/415125936162738176
There’s nothing like the holiday season to bring out the derp in managers of social media for businesses and corporations. Top contender for this Christmas’ competition has to be the “ginger bread shack house” photos from the Orient-Express’ posh Mount Nelson hotel in South Africa. Immediately after tweeting the pictures, there was an online backlash for the seeming insensitivity of making a ginger bread house modeled after the dilapidated hovel in which many of South Africa’s poor reside.
http://twitter.com/#!/themountnelson/status/415110718342459392
The hotel has since deleted the picture, but not before many caught a screencap:
http://twitter.com/#!/RuthHallPLAAS/status/415161589873270784
Here’s another view:
http://twitter.com/#!/za_meme/status/415162980934766592
http://twitter.com/#!/yn_maybe/status/415144089022386176
http://twitter.com/#!/1YANGAwakening/status/415250907975012352
http://twitter.com/#!/SiveMayiya/status/415335796141719552
http://twitter.com/#!/AlexandreLaudet/status/415365560382136320
http://twitter.com/#!/Boschwhacked/status/415174793244454912
After apologizing, the hotel tried to explain that the ginger bread shack was an attempt to raise awareness or something.
http://twitter.com/#!/themountnelson/status/415142661532942336
http://twitter.com/#!/themountnelson/status/415142205616316416
Uh huh. Yeah, we’re totally buying that excuse — that’s why the photo was deleted. It was raising too much awareness!