Last week, Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon deftly explained to the world that hashtags make us sound like idiots — with humour. Well, JC Penney thought it was funny, but apparently, the company didn’t learn a gosh darn thing about the evil of hashtags. Oh, god no, JC Penney. Please, god no, please, don’t do this.
So the whole point of the video that went viral last week was that hashtags are stupid. It would be absolutely ridiculous if we all wandered around the world randomly hashtagging our everyday conversation. So JC Penney, a nearly-bankrupt retail outfit, is taking this as a cue to encourage us to hashtag in real life. We should cheapen our conversation and our lives in exchange for a discount. No!
Seriously, WTF JC Penney. Think about what you’re encouraging here:
1. #GoToRegister
2. #SayHashtagOffer
3. #Get10off25
4. #DroptheMic
* #TodayOnly
** #DetailsAndExclusionsInStore— JCPenney (@jcpenney) October 2, 2013
Since JC Penney didn’t get the message, maybe we should be a little clearer.
- Do not go to JC Penney.
- Do not say hashag offer at the register.
- Do not get a hashtag discount.
- Do not hashtag in real life or otherwise.