Yesterday was Father’s Day, so, Prestone, one of the leading makers of coolants, antifreeze, radiator flushing compounds, and other car-juices, put up some sentimental pro-dad content on their social media accounts. There was just one problem: the car they chose was one of the few that has no need for the products they’re best known for.
As far as social media screw-ups go, this one is pretty minor, overall. They managed to avoid any racial slurs, and the post was charmingly free of exposed penises, so overall that’s a win. But you’d think for a company whose corporate web page is titled “Prestone Antifreeze/Coolant and Car Care Products” it would make sense to pick a car that, you know, uses antifreeze and coolant, unlike the old, lovely Porsche 911 they did pick.
What’s crazy is that it’s not like it’s hard to find something that’s not air-cooled; staying away from old Porsches, Corvairs, Citroën 2CVs and related cars, early Fiat 500s, classic Volkswagens, and some very uncommon other vintage cars (Tatras, a Subaru 360, some early Hondas, early 1900s Franklins, etc.) should pretty much do it, leaving the social media team with only, oh, almost every other fucking car ever made to pick from.
Of course, people were having fun with Prestone’s little screw-up:
I mean, Prestone does make brake fluid and washer fluid and other stuff you could use in an air-cooled 911, and the company briefly defended themselves, before deleting their post:
Okay, the sentiment is nice enough. In the end, we’re actually talking about some otherwise forgettable Prestone Instagram post, so maybe making a stupid mistake that will be seized on by car geeks is the next stage of viral marketing?
I wonder if it helped these clowns sell any luggage?