Bad Timing: Applebee's Trends For The Wrong Reasons Amid CNN's Russia-Ukraine Coverage

A television commercial was the victim of some bad timing Thursday morning.

What Happened: CNN, a unit of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), was reporting live the air raid sirens going off in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev. During the coverage, CNN aired an ad with a split-screen view showing the words “Russia Invades Ukraine” and other scrolling items while also putting a commercial on the screen.

The commercial in question is from Applebee’s, a unit of Dine Brands Global Inc (NYSE: DIN), and features the song “Chicken Fried” from Zac Brown Brand and talks of cold beer on a Friday night and a pair of jeans that fit just right.

In fact, some were able to grab videos of people in the video dancing in their blue jeans while the words “Russia Invades Ukraine” appeared on the screen.

Many were quick to point out the unfortunate timing of the commercial.

CNN gets criticized for Applebees spot immediately after sirens in Ukraine pic.twitter.com/hTG2fgwL04

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 24, 2022

Related Link: Joe Biden Responds To Russian Military Action In Ukraine: Will Ensure "Strong, United Response" 

Why It’s Important: Likely no fault of its own, Applebee’s quickly became a trending topic on Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR). Some will likely point the blame at the restaurant chain for airing an ad during the invasion coverage.

Forbes.com reporter Marty Swant shared on Twitter a statement from Applebee's.

I asked Applebee's about the now-viral ad that aired on CNN today during the live broadcast of Russia's attack on Ukraine and just got the following statement: pic.twitter.com/q3rxA4cJxN

— Marty Swant (@martyswant) February 24, 2022

The statement reads: "We are deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine. When we were made aware that our ad was placed in this manner, we immediately reached out to CNN to pause our advertising on their network. It never should have aired, and we are disappointed in the actions of the network."

The unfortunate timing also highlights the risk of having split-screen advertisements as they sometimes don’t match up in messages, are in poor taste or the timing is bad in consumers’ eyes.

Many live sports programs do split-screen ads to make sure they don’t cut away from the game and it allows media companies the ability to get more advertising revenue. This can cause problems if players get injured and an ad is playing at the same time.

Applebee’s has 1,689 restaurants in the U.S. and 13 additional countries.

Dine Brands is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings before the market opens on March 2.

DIN Price Action: Shares are up 2.02% to $81.28 at market close Thursday.

Photo: Twitter screenshot