If you were anywhere near the Internet on Thursday, you heard about the Kenneth Cole Twitter flap.

The shoe and clothing maker tweeted: “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online.” Oof.

That tweet, which “hijacked” the Twitter hashtag related to the protests, sparked a furious backlash on Twitter and Facebook, and among bloggers.

In a follow-up tweet, Kenneth Cole said: “RE: Egypt tweet. We weren’t intending to make light of a serious situation. We understand the sensitivity of this historic moment.”

Eventually, the company removed the offending tweet and issued an apology on its Facebook page.

Over at our sister site Ragan.com, marketing pro Shelly Kramer asked if the gaffe is a brand killer for Kenneth Cole.

What do you think? It was a tasteless tweet, but imagine all the attention it drew to that spring line.

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