Monday 25 July 2011

Microsoft apologises for ‘cynical’ Amy Winehouse tweet - Telegraph

Microsoft apologises for ‘cynical’ Amy Winehouse tweet

Microsoft has apologised for a tweet about Amy Winehouse from its Xbox 360 PR Twitter account.

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Amy Winehouse performing at the Brit Awards in 2008: she later went into decline (REUTERS) 

A tweet from tweetbox360, the official PR account for the Xbox 360, encouraged Amy Winehouse fans to remember the singer by buying her album, Back to Black, from Microsoft’s Zune store.

However, the tweet immediately met with criticism from Twitter users who called it “cynical” and in “appalling taste”.

The company posted a message this morning that read: “Remember Amy Winehouse by downloading the ground-breaking ‘Back to Black’ over at Zune.”

Remember Amy Winehouse by downloading the ground-breaking ‘Back to Black’ over at Zune: http://t.co/rWQb0CK?culture=en-gbless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet Reply

An hour after the initial tweet, the company apologised in a new tweet: “Apologies to everyone if our earlier Amy Winehouse ‘download’ tweet seemed purely commercially motivated. Far from the case, we assure you.”

Though most of those who responded to the Microsoft tweet were critical, some sympathised with the company, pointing out that Apple’s iTunes Store is also running a “Remembering Amy” advert today.

Amy Winehouse was found dead at her London flat on Saturday. Tributes have poured in from fans and celebrities and there has been a surge of interest in the singer’s work. Back to Black, her second album, went to number one in the iTunes charts this weekend and there is speculation that a third album could be compiled from demos the singer had been working on.

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