Here’s a battle that could actually go down in history.
On Tuesday morning at 9 a.m., Oreo (otherwise known as “America’s Favorite Cookie”) announced a plan to its 16 million Facebook fans — to set the Guinness World Record for the most “Likes” to a Facebook post within 24 hours. The feat had never been attempted before, so the cookie brand specified a goal of 50,000 clicks, surely enough to secure and hold onto the record for some time.
But as the clicks started coming in, the campaign was hijacked — by none other than rapper Lil Wayne, who was out to prove just how easy it is to be “liked” in the world of Facebook. Around 2 p.m, Weezy (as he’s lovingly known by fans) told his 20 million-plus followers: “Everyone, please ‘Like’ this post. I’m trying to break the Guinness World Record for most ‘Likes’ on a post in 24 hours. Let’s get it!!!”
(More on NewsFeed: See what bands are set to take the stage at Bonnaroo this summer.)
An epic battle between delicious treat and bad-boy rapper ensued, but it was obvious that Weezy was in it for the win. Within 15 minutes, the rapper received more than 75,000 “likes” on his post. The final 24-hour tally for Oreo? 114,619. As of 1 pm Wednesday, Lil Wayne was still raking in clicks, with more than 530,000 “likes” and 23,000 comments in 23 hours, and still growing.
Despite the social-media storm that Lil Wayne created by his attempt to crush Oreo’s campaign, he seemed to overlook one detail: to actually be awarded the Guinness World Record, an application needs to be submitted, which Oreo was smart enough to do before the campaign started. Therefore, on Wednesday morning, the cookie company proudly accepted its award, although it may not hold on to it for very long.
(More on NewsFeed: Lil Wayne drops Packers-themed song “Green and Yellow”)
In a release, a rep for Guinness World Records said, “We are aware of Lil Wayne’s attempt for the same record which is currently ongoing. Guinness World Records will review any applicant’s evidence once they have completed their attempt, which in this case is at the end of the 24-hour period. This record demonstrates how exciting social media records can be and it is great to see so many people getting involved with these attempts.”
No word yet from Weezy on whether he’ll submit his campaign for the record, but if NewsFeed knows anything about the rapper, we bet that he’ll be speaking out very soon — and his fans and followers will be listening. (via The Independent)