Twitter was abuzz with laughs and speculations yesterday when Honda’s official Twitter account was seemingly hacked by none other than the cartoon villain, Skeletor. After taking over the brand’s account, Skeletor made a few changes, editing their bio to read: “It is I, Skeletor! Master of the Universe, Internet, and now Honda’s Twitter Account! Prepare to experience my evil in 140 characters or less!! Muahaha!!!”
The takeover had all of the classic elements of a social network hacking, which has happened to many brands including Skype, Jeep and Burger King. However, this was no hacking matter. The takeover was a part of a new advertising campaign, promoting Honda’s annual Honda Days sale. The takeover remained live on the brand’s account for about 4 hours before they returned to business as usual, tweeting:
And we’re back! Skeletor has returned to Eternia and sanity has officially been restored. #Skeletakeover is over! #Finally
— Honda (@Honda) December 2, 2014
Unlike other brands who have staged account hackings, Honda’s seems to have been very well received. Followers engaged with the tweets and many found it entertaining –though they didn’t quite understand the thought behind it. Those who had seen this commercial released by Honda earlier in November better understood the Skeletor connection.
Now that Honda’s Twitter account is back to normal, do you think the social media tactic will help their Honda Days sales? Will social media takeovers become more prominent moving forward? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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