No wrap-up of the year would be complete without a look at some of the more notable missteps of deed or statement in 2013. Most are business related, but there's also room for a couple of political doozies.
With a tip of the hat to David Letterman, we give you our Top 10 Bloopers of 2013:
10. Avon Products' (AVP) creating and subsequent ditching of its CRM /order management system, which cost $125 million and four years of development time, after its initial deployment in Canada created so much ill will that sales reps fled the company.
9. A JPMorgan Chase (JPM) communication executive's setting up what became a disastrous town hall Q&A over the Internet to improve the public's perception of the firm.
8. The McDonald's (MCD) communication executive's creation of an employee advice website that warned about eating too much fast food and suggested Subway sandwiches as a healthier alternative.
7. Target's (TGT) "Nightmare Before Christmas" featuring 40 million credit cards, including PIN information, which were possibly breached.
6. Not long after Ron Johnson started as CEO of J.C. Penney (JCP), William Ackman put up a slide at an investor conference with the following message: "Ron Johnson's record of retailing success makes him the ideal leader to fix JCP."
5. Anthony Weiner, posing as "Carlos Danger," manages to disgust the notoriously tolerant New York City electorate in his reprise of his sexting foray, thus ruining his political comeback and attempt to become mayor.
4. lululemon athletica (LULU) Founder and Chairman Chip Wilson is quoted as saying, "Some women's bodies just actually don't work" in the company's successful yoga pants line. He resigns shortly thereafter.
3. Justine Sacco, head of PR for IAC/InterActive (IACI), got herself fired over her offensive Tweet that spread quickly over social media: "Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just Kidding. I'm White!"
2. United Parcel Service (UPS) plays the Grinch by missing thousands of Christmas deliveries in spite of guarantees.
And the No. 1 blooper of the year:
1. "If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it."
Best wishes for a happy, healthy, successful and blooper-free 2014.
