SpaghettiOs' Pearl Harbor Tweet

Background

On December 6th, 2013, Campbell Soup Company^[1] tweeted an illustrated drawing of its SpaghettiOs-brand cartoon mascot holding an American flag with a message commemorating the 72nd anniversary of the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor (shown below).

Notable Developments

Cambell’s ill-matched pairing of a national tragedy that claimed more than 2,300 American soldiers’ lives, and the smiling mascot of SpaghettiOs was instantly met by backlash on Twitter, with thousands of American users^[2] expressing disappointment and disgust at the company’s poorly conceived event, while others quipped at the company’s social media blunder using the jingle “Uh oh, SpaghettiOs,” including comedians like Wil Wheaton and Patton Oswalt (shown below).

"Uh-oh, SpaghettiOs</a> the humanity!" <a href="http://t.co/FMY5AbYIvy">pic.twitter.com/FMY5AbYIvy</a></p>— Patton Oswalt (pattonoswalt) December 7, 2013

What the actual fuck is wrong with you people? RT @SpaghettiOs: Take a moment to remember #PearlHarbor with us. http://t.co/U52nS5oq9Y
— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) December 7, 2013

Thoughts and prayers go out to the @SpaghettiOs social media team, spending the weekend in the Punishment Tub: pic.twitter.com/mwz2NsYwm1
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) December 7, 2013

According to Topsy^[2], @Spaghettios was mentioned nearly 20,000 times on the memorial day of the Pearl Harbor invasion.

Apology

On December 7th, Campbell Soup issued an apology^[5] via its SpaghettiOs-branded account on Twitter.

We apologize for our recent tweet in remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day. We meant to pay respect, not to offend.
— SpaghettiOs (@SpaghettiOs) December 7, 2013