Examples of Social Media having a negative effect on brands?

[ellaannouncements]

I'm looking for an example of social media having a negative effect on a well-known brand, or showing that brand in a bad light... Preferably through twitter or facebook. I have some examples I've sourced from my own memory, however none of the brand involved are big enough for this case study, so I'm ideally looking for a household name.

At the same time, if anyone has any suggestions on companies who are shining examples of how social media should be done, then this would also be beneficial.

[prouddesk779]

Here's a few documentaries on the subject:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011fjbp
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011fjb5 (Fashion)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011llvt (Food)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011cr8h (Technology)
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_qu...utube&aq=f



Do you remember Burberry?
http://uk.burberry.com/store/?WT.srch=1

...Chav's started wearing it and the media picked up on it as their designer brand apart from sportswear brands.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4381140.stm

Burberry is a clothing company whose products became associated with the "chav" stereotype. Burberry's appeal to "chav" fashion sense is a sociological example of prole drift, where an up-market product begins to be consumed en masse by a lower socio-economic group. Burberry has argued that the brand's popular association with "chav" fashion sense is linked to counterfeit versions of the clothing. "They’re yesterday's news", stated Stacey Cartwright, the CEO of Burberry. "It was mostly counterfeit, and Britain accounts for less than 10% of our sales anyway."

The company has taken a number of steps to distance itself from the stereotype. It ceased production of its own branded baseball cap in 2004 and has scaled back the use of its trademarked checkered/tartan design to such an extent that it now only appears on the inner linings and other very low-key positions of their clothing. It has also taken legal action against high-profile infringements of the brand. In August 2006, a company introducing tuk-tuk vehicles into the south coast city of Brighton, England named one the "Chavrolet", which had it painted in the distinctive Burberry tartan. They had to withdraw the vehicle when Burberry threatened proceedings for breach of copyright.

The large supermarket chain Asda has attempted to trademark the word "chav" for a new line of confectionery. A spokeswoman said: "With slogans from characters in shows such as Little Britain and The Catherine Tate Show providing us with more and more contemporary slang, our Whatever sweets – now nicknamed chav hearts – have become very popular with kids and grown-ups alike. We thought we needed to give them some respect and have decided to trademark our sweets."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav#Commercial_effect