Microsoft’s UK Xbox 360 PR team were forced to issue an apology on Monday following an ill timed twitter message.

The company’s @tweetxbox360 twitter handle tweeted “remember Amy Winehouse by downloading the ground-breaking ‘Back to Black’ over at zune,” earlier on Monday. The tweet generated widespread anger and disbelief that Microsoft would use the death of 27 year-old Winehouse to promote content at Zune. Mashable reports that a number of users labelled the tweet a “fail at social media”.

Microsoft issued an apology shortly afterwards. “Apologies to everyone if our earlier Amy Winehouse ‘download’ tweet seemed purely commercially motivated,” it said. “Far from the case, we assure you.”

Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27 on July 23 at her London home in Camden. Her death is “as yet unexplained” by police and initial autopsy reports failed to find a cause of death. Sales of Winehouse’s records have soared since the premature death of the singer.

http://www.winrumors.com/microsoft-issues-apology-over-insensitive-amy-winehouse-tweet/

Posted: Jul 25, 2011 10:36 pm