Top 10 PR blunders of the year—so far

Where would PR pros be without reputation-damaging blunders—without clients who step in it, shoot themselves in the foot, or face-plant in the public square while the Twitter multitudes jeer?

Out of work, that’s where.

So as the first half of 2018 ends, let us consider a few of the year’s outstanding reputational goofs, so far.

Some of these were gaffes by clients, others were campaigns by PR and marketing teams that didn’t turn out as planned. The good news is, all these blunders left messes that somebody had to clean up, guaranteeing full employment for crisis response teams.

Feeling left out? Don’t worry. You’ve got another six months to ride to the rescue after others tweet something stupid, host a convention party with topless dancers, or otherwise strive to make our year-end wrap-up in December.

To the winners, congratulations. Following is the list we’ve rounded up here at PRDaily.com and Ragan.com. Ranking these seems highly subjective, so feel free to print out this article, snip it up, and rearrange it in your own descending ladder of knuckleheadedness.

Various rats at Burger King