Cringey Or Classy – Brand Reactions To The Queen’s Death

We want to keep this respectful, so we’ll just stick to the facts. The sad day has come; Queen Elizabeth II has passed away. Operation London Bridge was triggered. While the government and the royal family had a rigorous, foolproof plan, many companies (and their marketing teams) didn’t.

Most of the country has had to deal with the situation as it unfolded, staring into the intense looming void left by the death of the nation’s longest-serving monarch after a hard and stressful day at the office, concluding with, one assumes, a round or two of sombre pints at the local pub.

After Buckingham Palace officially announced the Queen’s death on the evening of September 9^th, companies unleashed a deluge of social media posts and online tributes. Outside of the main media organisations, the news came as a shock and people were unprepared, resulting in a lot of quick reactions on Twitter and Instagram. The most dreary, of course, comes from presumably underpaid and overworked social media executives of massive companies.

According to YouGov, over half (58%) of Britons said that those messages were driven by PR rather than to sincerely pay respect, with less than a third (28%) feeling the messages came from the heart. Amongst the tributes, there were a few that raised some eyebrows, and I’m here to share those who did it well – and those that missed the mark.

Cringey Or Classy – Brand Reactions To The Queen’s Death

Starting with the classy ones

There were a few posts paying their respect that I really liked. The link between the brand and the Queen was clear, and they were very respectful or thoughtful.

Paddington Bear

Thank you Ma’am, for everything.

— Paddington (@paddingtonbear) September 8, 2022

First up is Paddington. It’s a sweet nod to the Queen, and after Queen Elizabeth appeared with Paddington Bear in a light-hearted sketch earlier this year, it’s a classy way to recognise the impact the death has had. It made such an impression, that the royal parks had to ask mourners to stop leaving marmalade sandwiches in honour of the Queen.

Roald Dahl HQ

Thank you, Your Majesty. pic.twitter.com/D4042iJopO

— Roald Dahl HQ ✏️ (@roald_dahl) September 9, 2022

When the BFG met the Queen with little Sophie, the wonderful line “your majester, I am your humbug servant” appeared, respectful yet in line with Dahl’s style. The tweet followed suit, even if they missed their chance for a “majester” moment.

Disney UK

Rest in peace, Your Majesty ? pic.twitter.com/a61oRiRpvE

— Disney UK (@Disney_UK) September 8, 2022

Yes, it’s another fictional bear, but it’s sweet for the UK branch to recognise the British elements of their intellectual property, going back to the roots of the character.

Launer London

A deeply, sad day R.I.P Ma’am. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 1926 -2022#thequeen #queen #QueenElizabethII #royal #RoyalFamily #launerlondon pic.twitter.com/3rnnnc8CPD

— Launer London Official (@LaunerLondon) September 9, 2022

You’d be hard-pressed to find a picture of Her Majesty without one of her signature Launer handbags. She reportedly owned more than 200 of them! This was an elegant and expected tweet, 10/10.

And now, the cringey ones

There are so many that just completely missed the mark. We’ve compiled our favourites, but sometimes it’s best to just keep quiet. Some of these have since been deleted, but live on through screenshots. Thanks, internet.

Paris Hilton

The original girl boss. One of the most inspirational women. The end of an era. RIP https://t.co/WZWpGIaXoH

— ParisHilton (@ParisHilton) September 8, 2022

I was speechless seeing this on my feed. The original girl boss. I can imagine that Paris can relate to Queen Elizabeth – both being born into unimaginable wealth, but this feels a little disconnected.

Hamilton

pic.twitter.com/jjL07PjifX

— Hamilton West End (@HamiltonWestEnd) September 8, 2022

I feel the people in charge of the Hamilton socials haven’t seen the show. The lyrics of “You’ll Be Back” are now playing in my head…

Pizza Express

pic.twitter.com/gcgtBI2Ar2

— @pizzaexpress (@PizzaExpress) September 8, 2022

It speaks for itself.

Greggs

An inspiration for more than seven decades, we’re sorry to hear of the passing of Her Majesty The Queen. Thank you, Ma’am. pic.twitter.com/CdavahJXR6

— Greggs (@GreggsOfficial) September 8, 2022

There were a few brands who found a picture of the Queen in their brand colours, but nothing is quite so quintessentially British as the Queen in ‘Greggs blue’ for their condolence post.

Thomas Cook

One of my favourite deleted posts, Thomas Cook posted this on their Facebook page, paired with their signature yellow heart. You can see it had good intentions, but it didn’t land the way they hoped.

British Kebab Awards

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge Her Majesty the Queen’s passing. For 70 years, she stewarded us through our darkest and brightest days. Thank you Your Majesty. RIP https://t.co/uxF192OlSR pic.twitter.com/iuHGVw55Jb

— British Kebab Awards (@KebabAwards) September 8, 2022

This tweet blindsided us but it felt so incredibly heartfelt in comparison to some of the other corporate tweets. It’s not as cringey as the others, but it did feel completely unrelated. While researching this blog, we found out that the Queen once ate a doner kebab after Prince Harry dared her to, according to Jane Seymour, the Royal Correspondent. (With a name like that how can you do any other job?!)

September 9^th 2022 was a strange day to be on the internet no matter whether you are a staunch royalist, anti-monarchy, or completely unbothered. If you’d like to see more brand reactions, there is a great twitter feed, or read this article on the importance of good communication in online marketing.

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