How a Massive KitKat Heist Turned Into Crisis PR Gold

Just how much are 12 metric tons of stolen KitKat bars worth? A lot of promotional gold, it turns out.

12公吨被偷的KitKat巧克力棒到底值多少钱？事实证明，这是一笔巨大的促销黄金。

promotional adj. 促销的

The company launched a promotional campaign to boost sales.

公司发起了一场促销运动来提高销售额。

It was the brazen chocolate heist heard around the social-media world: Over the weekend, Nestlé confirmed that thieves had swiped 413,793 units of KitKats somewhere along their way from a factory in central Italy to Poland.

这是一起在社交媒体上引起关注的无耻巧克力盗窃案：周末，雀巢证实，窃贼在从意大利中部一家工厂运往波兰的途中偷走了413,793个KitKat。

brazen adj. 无耻的

The brazen thief walked right out of the store with the merchandise.

那个无耻的小偷正大光明地从店里拿走了商品。

swiped v. 偷走

Someone swiped his umbrella from the stand outside the office.

有人从办公室外的架子上偷走了他的伞。

What the Swiss company lost in chocolate, though, it gained back in a public-relations coup—as did multiple other companies quick to hop on the meme bandwagon.

然而，这家瑞士公司在巧克力上损失的，在公关策略上赚了回来——其他多家迅速抓住表情包潮流的公司也是如此。

coup n. 策略

The marketing team pulled off a major coup with the celebrity endorsement.

营销团队通过名人代言完成了一次重大策略。

hop on phr.v. 抓住（潮流）

Brands are trying to hop on the trending topic to gain visibility.

品牌们正试图抓住热门话题来获得曝光度。

bandwagon n. 潮流

Many companies jumped on the bandwagon of the viral challenge.

许多公司加入了这场病毒式挑战的潮流。

"We've always encouraged people to have a break with KitKat—but it seems thieves have taken the message too literally and made a break with more than 12 metric tons of our chocolate," the company said in a statement.

"我们一直鼓励人们用KitKat休息一下——但看来窃贼太字面理解了这个信息，偷走了超过12公吨的巧克力，"公司在声明中表示。

literally adv. 字面地

I literally died of laughter when I heard the joke.

当我听到这个笑话时，我简直笑死了。

Taking their cue from Nestlé, other companies soon joined in with some social-media spoofing.

从雀巢的做法中得到启发，其他公司很快也加入了一些社交媒体恶搞。

cue n. 启发

She took her cue from her mentor and started her own business.

她从导师那里得到启发，开始了自己的事业。

spoofing n. 恶搞

The viral spoofing of the advertisement made it even more popular.

对广告的病毒式恶搞使其更加流行。

"We would like to share our thoughts and condolences with Kit Kat following their sad news," an account for Domino's Pizza in the U.K. posted Monday morning. Then, it added, "On a completely unrelated note, we're pleased to announce we'll now be selling a new Kit Kat pizza."

"我们想分享我们的想法和哀悼给Kit Kat，"英国的多米诺骨牌Pizza账号在周一早上发布。然后，它补充道，"在一个完全无关的事情上，我们很高兴宣布我们现在将销售一种新的Kit Kat披萨。"

condolences n. 哀悼

Please accept my condolences on the passing of your grandmother.

请接受我对您祖母去世的哀悼。

unrelated adj. 无关的

The two events were completely unrelated despite happening on the same day.

尽管发生在同一天，但这两个事件完全无关。

Not long ago, most companies would have said little, leaving it to law-enforcement authorities to disclose such a potentially embarrassing revelation. Now, any bad news is good news—as long as a corporate brand can turn it into a viral meme.

不久之前，大多数公司会很少说话，将这种潜在的尴尬披露留给执法部门。现在，任何坏消息都是好消息——只要企业品牌能把它变成一个病毒式传播的表情包。

embarrassing adj. 尴尬的

It was an embarrassing moment when he forgot his own presentation slides.

当他忘记自己的演示幻灯片时，那是一个尴尬的时刻。

viral adj. 病毒式传播的

The video went viral within hours of being posted online.

视频在网上发布后几小时内就病毒式传播了。

"It's a master class in public relations," said Andrew Bloch. By leaning in to the misfortune of a lot of stolen chocolate, the company "embraced the opportunity and turned it into a positive."

"这是一堂公共关系的大师课，"Andrew Bloch说。通过欣然接受大量巧克力被偷的不幸，该公司"抓住了机会，将其转化为积极的东西。"

master class n. 大师课

The CEO gave a master class on leadership during the conference.

首席执行官在会议期间上了一堂领导力大师课。

leaning in phr.v. 欣然接受

The company leaned in to the criticism and used it to improve.

公司欣然接受批评，并用它来改进。

The incident is reminiscent of the time, in 2018, when KFC was running out of chicken in the U.K. because of problems with a supplier, Bloch said.

Bloch说，这一事件让人想起2018年肯德基在英国因供应商问题而耗尽鸡肉的时候。

reminiscent adj. 让人想起的

The old song was reminiscent of her childhood summers.

这首老歌让人想起她童年的夏天。

Hundreds of the chain's outlets briefly closed, and it took out a full-page ad in British newspapers to apologize—kind of. The ad featured an empty bucket of chicken emblazoned with its initials rearranged to "FCK."

该连锁店的数百家门店短暂关闭，并在英国报纸上刊登了整版广告来表示歉意。广告的特点是一桶空鸡肉，上面印着被重新排列成"FCK"的首字母。

emblazoned v. 印有

The t-shirt was emblazoned with the band's logo.

这件T恤印有乐队的标志。

Trying to juice a rival's bad news for buzz isn't advisable if it's something as serious as an oil spill or a plane crash. But weighing in on an international chocolate-bar caper is pretty low-risk, said Davia Temin.

如果事情像石油泄漏或飞机失事那样严重，试图利用竞争对手的坏消息来获取关注是不可取的。但对国际巧克力棒盗窃案发表评论是相当低风险的，Temin女士说。

juice v. 利用

The media tried to juice the scandal for more clicks.

媒体试图利用丑闻来获得更多点击。

"It's chocolate, it's Easter," Temin said. "I don't think you can go too wrong." To do it right, brands need to be among the first to pounce on a potentially viral mishap, said Allen Adamson.

"这是巧克力，是复活节，"Temin说。"我认为你不会犯太大的错误。"要做到这一点，品牌需要成为第一批抓住潜在病毒式传播事件的人，Allen Adamson说。

pounce on phr.v. 抓住

Investors pounced on the opportunity to buy discounted stocks.

投资者抓住了购买打折股票的机会。

"If you're the fifth or sixth to jump on the bandwagon here, you're toast," Adamson said. "Spontaneity requires a really clear sense of what the rules are."

"如果你这里是第五或第六个加入潮流的人，你就完了，"Adamson说。"自发性需要真正清楚规则是什么。"

Spontaneity n. 自发性

The success of the campaign depended on spontaneity and quick timing.

活动的成功取决于自发性和快速时机。