While many people don’t even notice spelling and grammar mistakes, they can cost businesses big. As soon as someone mocks them on social media, the error can spread quickly as the joke catches on. Costumers expect perfection from companies, and all it takes is one misstep to lose that trust. Here are some egregious mistakes to showcase how embarrassing a slip-up can be.

1: Ironic Typos

H&M misspelled genius as “genious” on a t-shirt, an especially ironic error that is ripe for mockery. To make matters worse, it was contained within a Thomas Jefferson quote, suggesting disrespect to an America founding father, even if no disrespect was meant.

2: Unappetizing Misspellings

McDonald’s had a misspelling of their own, losing a letter when trying to spell “angus.” (We’ll let you guess which letter they forgot.) This seems to be a recurring mistake for the company, as the internet is full of photos of signs outside various restaurants bearing the misspelling. Honest confusions like this that result in questionable words can have a detrimental effect on a business, particularly one that relies on its customers to have an appetite.

3: Unpatriotic Errors

During the 2012 election, Mitt Romney switched some letters around and came up with “Amercia” on his iPhone app. Given the high stakes of running for U.S. president, it was forehead-smacking misstep. Although Mitt himself certainly didn’t write the copy for the ad, it reflected poorly on him nonetheless. This example serves as a cautionary tale for companies to only hire the best talent, or to at least outsource for editing.

4: Social Media Posts

Additionally, there are countless examples of companies sending out confusing messages over social media, especially Twitter. While it can be difficult to keep up with the rapid-fire nature of social media, pausing and coming back to a draft of a tweet to make sure it’s OK to send out is an invaluable practice of patience. Almost every tweet with an error or even mild controversy will be screenshotted and shared.

All of this goes to say that a hiring a good marketing team is well worth the price, if only for a fresh pair of eyes. Once the mistake is put out there, even if the product is recalled or deleted, it will forever live on in internet infamy.

Feature Image Credit: H&M

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