Bic For Her: The Latest in Social Media Attacks

If you haven’t heard, Bic is in the midst of the latest online attack for their “Bic For Her” new line of pens. Pens designed and marketed specifically for women:

What’s the word on the street – or rather the voice on the web saying?

Many find themselves insulted with this new line and the marketing campaign Bic has launched along with it, and they’re voicing their discontent with the brand on social media, in blogs and in online reviews. (duh!!)

Posts on Facebook and Twitter resemble the following:

– Facebook –

– Twitter –

Notice a response from Bic?

Nope! Apparently Bic thinks that Mum should be the word in this little predicament they find themselves in. Apparently caught off-guard with these negative attacks, Bic has yet to respond to their insulted and infuriated customers. If you look at their Facebook page, they’re usually good at responding to the comments posted by their fans – unless they’re of the negative variety. And a quick look at their Twitter feed shows that they’ve done nothing to address the negative and sarcastic tweets circulating the Twitter-sphere.

How many lessons will it take?

To say that Bic should have been prepared for a “campaign-gone-wrong” situation is an understatement. But to remain completely and utterly silent while your brand gets bashed right in the midst of the back-to-school season? Come one, Bic, we expect you to do better than that!

At the very least I would have liked to see responses to the Facebook posts, Tweets and forum discussions, along with an official response posted to their Facebook page and linked to from Twitter. I mean, they could have even had fun with this one! So they judged the market wrong. Come back and laugh at and with yourself and, most importantly, have the presence of mind to be present!

This simply marks yet another #fail in social media communications during an online attack.