#NuclearButton tweet explodes on social media, inspires brands to creatively take on their rivals

While TV and print media earlier provided fodder for brands to come up with cheeky campaigns, social media is now giving enough material for even iconic brands to spar for customer attention.

Earlier, brands took their cues from the news, cinema and other fields. Or used topics like another brand's major event to take advantage and poke fun at them. Remember, in 2017, when BMW celebrated its 100th birthday, how Mercedes acted cheekily with an ad?

It paid BMW a left-handed compliment to make a point about themselves while overtly congratulating BMW.

They also went all the way and invited all BMW employees to the Mercedes-Benz Museum “to discover the complete history of the automobile” from March 8 to 13. Mercedes also trolled BMW on social media. Their short film got 7,757 comments and over 302,000 views.

Or, remember how Virgin pulled a stunt near the London Eye when they taunted British Airways with this unique outdoor message?

Or, remember how Burger King poked fun at McDonald's with this full-page ad in 2015?

Now social media is providing the same inspiration to brands that topical news from TV and print provided earlier to advertisers. While President Donald Trump's nuclear button tweet might have fazed political pundits, some brands decided to have some fun with the latest topic of conversation around the world.

Closer home, Amul Butter has for the last five decades always capitalised on the current buzz. President Trump’s tweet inspired this hoarding from Amul Butter.

KFC UK and Ireland decided to get cheeky with McDonald's on Twitter. Many Americans acknowledged they weren't even aware that KFC existed in that part of the world until their tweet took Twitter by storm.

Great repartee to tackle competitors with something that is current and has provoked people all around the world to make a comment. At the time of writing this, McDonald’s hadn't yet responded, but no doubt they are thinking of something smart and witty.

In the meantime, Twitter is facing all the flak for the original Donald Trump tweet. Brands used it as a parody, but the original tweet might not have aimed at any humour!

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(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)