Dunkin' Donuts' Liverpool Badge Twitter Competition Goes Horribly Wrong

Sean Swaby @seanswabyUK Staff WriterFebruary 26, 2015

Twitter

Jim Boardman @JimBoardman
I wonder if @DunkinDonuts are putting an apology together or just hoping it goes away. http://t.co/usasZy1ap4

Liverpool's marriage with American doughnut purveyor Dunkin' Donuts is off to an inauspicious start—to say the least.

The Boston-based doughnut giant tweeted out a contest of sorts to inspire fans to create their own versions of Liverpool's famous crest.

Unfortunately, they also created their own, replacing the flames that honour those lost in the Hillsborough disaster with iced coffees and the Shankly Gates to represent late manager Bill Shankly with doughnuts.

The tweet was quickly removed due to the obvious backlash but not before screenshots were taken and passed around.

Naturally, the move was not well-received:

LFC Signed Stuff @LFCsignedstuff
@DunkinDonuts Delete that #lfc picture mate it's really insulting

Steve Cotton @stevencotton
@m_k_ozzie @JimBoardman @DunkinDonuts The Hillsborough Flames replaced with coffees, or milkshakes, or whatever those are.

Update: Thursday, February 26

Dunkin' Donuts has apologized for the offending Tweet in a statement, per the Liverpool Echo.

We apologize for any insensitivity regarding our tweet supporting an LFC-themed promotion featuring the LFC Crest.
As a proud partner of LFC, we did not intend any offense, particularly to the Club’s supporters. We have removed the tweet and halted the campaign immediately.

[Twitter]

🚨 SPORTS NEWS ➡️ YOUR INBOX

The latest in the sports world, emailed daily.