Tying in promotions to a holiday is a tradition, but come on:

MLK Photo credit: George Ellsworth It seems the Global Village Store in Duluth Minnesota thinks this is a good tie-in. When I phoned them to confirm just now, they excitedly said “Yep!! All black items are on sale!”

So, there you go.

At the time, they even had a whole promotion on their Facebook page.

And while we're naming and shaming, how about the Golf Channel.

I cannot fathom someone sitting around a desk saying “I know how we can go viral!! Let’s newsjack! Tweet it up!”

Stop. Doing. This.

Stop trying to piggyback off holidays and celebrations by making it about you.

Stop trying to “go viral” or “trend”.

You know what a brand should do today? Nothing. Or show some respect and send out a tweet like “On this historic day 50 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr had a dream. Thank-you for changing the world.” Or whatever it is you want to say.

You don’t need to leverage this speech. You don’t need to leverage natural disasters. You don’t need to capitalize on civil unrest.

You need to be human. It’s not always about business.