While the rest of the world mourned the loss of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, who, along with nine others, passed away in a helicopter crash on January 26th, the Planters Peanuts marketing team scrambled to address backlash from their newest ad campaign. Just days before the tragic Bryant accident, Planters Peanuts uploaded an advertisement to YouTube which depicted the death of their mascot, Mr. Peanut, who dies in a fiery car crash. The team published the ad as the first part of a series that would finish with Mr. Peanut’s funeral during the Super Bowl. However, the resemblance to Bryant’s fiery helicopter crash was uncanny, and many viewers critiqued the strategy, calling it insensitive and tasteless.