On August 7, Target announced on their website that they would be doing away with gendered signage in a few of their departments, including toys and bedding.
Some customers didn’t take this well, flooding the store’s Facebook page with accusations of political correctness gone amok, among other nasty comments.
That’s when Mike Melgaard decided to step in.
After seeing the outraged responses, Melgaard created an account posing as a Target customer service representative, giving the irate customers decidedly un-PC answers to their comments.
“Immediately, I knew there would be your typical outraged American spouting emotional reactions on their Facebook page,” Melgaard told AdWeek. “Honestly, it was like striking comedy gold. Every one of these people gave me the ammunition I needed for a great response.”
Melgaard managed to post around 50 “helpful” comments (most of which can be seen on his Facebook page) over the course of 16 hours before his fake account was shut down.
In a statement to AdWeek, Target disassociated themselves from Melgaard’s actions.
“At Target, we are committed to providing outstanding guest service to our guests wherever we engage with them—in our stores, online, or on our social pages,” their statement read. “Clearly this individual was not speaking on behalf of Target. Should guests ever have questions on whether a communication from Target is legitimate, we encourage them to reach out to guest relations at 1-800-440-0680.”
Even though Melgaard said the trolling was just for laughs, he still had something serious to say about Target’s decision.
And despite Target’s assertion that Melgaard didn’t speak for them, this Facebook post seems to acknowledge at least one person at the company enjoyed his work.
[Photos via Mike Melgaard / Facebook]
