Designer Kenneth Cole's Twitter feed has published an unfortunate tweet "hijacking" the #Cairo hashtag to promote their new spring collection--nothing like using mob violence to promote some nifty mauve silk. Naturally, they've received a huge amount of outrage and have since apologized for the sentiment. Here's the offending tweet:



And a snapshot of reactions:

• The Next Web - "Oh dear, we thought that big brands might have learnt that hijacking hashtags isn’t a good idea"

• Advertising Age - "Kenneth Cole and others in the media and marketing industries not only suffer from a lack of tact, they suffer from a lack of historical knowledge and the ability to grasp that the situation in Egypt could get a hell of lot uglier than it is even at this moment."

• Styleite - "Apparently Kenneth Cole knows there’s nothing like a violent political revolution to boost sales!"

Update: and the Fake PR Twitter feed has appeared:


Update II: 

"I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate"

--Kenneth Cole, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer

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Erik Hayden