Before you run your mouth on Twitter, think to yourself: would I be okay with some scared intern in digital marketing using my own words to sell their dumb product? That’s what happened to this young woman. Beware!

On May 13, 2015, @issa_pltnm aka “CHANCLA GOD” tweeted the following:

The crackerjack promo team who runs the Head & Shoulders Twitter account sprang into action:

A few days ago, CHANCLA GOD (who says she goes by “Kettles”) told me via DM, Head & Shoulders decided to pay to promote the tweet, essentially turning her message into shampoo spam for an untold number of internet strangers, typo and all (it popped into my timeline this morning). Promoted tweets are a common tactic for online marketers, but seeing a brand appropriate an offhand remark by a civilian is rare—even Twitter’s own documentation of tweet promotion refers to the act as something done to one’s own tweets, not the tweets of others.

CHANCLA GOD tells me neither Head & Shoulders nor its parent company Proctor & Gamble asked her for permission before promoting her comment about her own dandruff, and that her timeline has become annoying “beyond belief”:

And so forth. The lesson is simple: our dumbest throwaway remarks are being constantly mined by advertising entities with the hope that they can be converted into “native” advertising that will increase the “authentic” “goodwill” of said brand and boost “awareness.” I asked Kettles if she’s planning on remaining a Head & Shoulders customer, and she told me “I already switched to tresseme before they promoted the tweet so.” So, good work everyone.

Alyssa Weiss, a Head & Shoulders spokesperson, denies CHANCLA GOD’s claim:

Thanks for reaching out! We do have written permission from this consumer to promote her tweet. Furthermore, Twitter nor P&G allow brands to promote consumer tweets without this written consent.

If you’d like to discuss further, please give me a call at the number below.

Best,

Alyssa

CHANCLA says that the company reached her via DM and said it might retweet her, but not promote her scalp comment on a running, daily basis, sans compensation.

Contact the author at biddle@gawker.com.
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