A screenshot of a tweet from Cheerios in tribute to music icon Prince, who died Thursday. 
 
 Will brands ever learn? 
 
 The death of a celebrity always creates a wellspring of emotion on Twitter, TWTR -1.21 % and news of Prince’s death Thursday was no exception. 
 
 Predictably, not long after his death was confirmed, consumer brands were jumping into the conversation on social media, showing us all how in touch they are with pop culture and our collective pain. 
 
 Just after the announcement of Prince’s death, Cheerios, 3M, and other brands hopped on social media to react to the tragedy. But many fans weren't happy about their efforts to join the conversation. Photo: AP 
 
 General Mills GIS 0.14 % ’ Cheerios account posted (and soon after deleted) a tweet of a purple banner reading “Rest in peace”--with a Cheerio dotting the i. 
 
 Some people found the message tone-deaf. Twitter user Matt Kelly wrote that Cheerios “broke new ground in tastelessness.” 
 
 3M MMM -0.40 % also tweeted out a tribute to the music icon, changing its logo to purple and adding a teardrop. Some found the move classy while others thought the musician wouldn’t approve. 
 
 To be fair, both are Minnesota-based companies, and their tweets were genuine expressions of sadness for the loss of one of the state’s most famous residents. 
 
 “As a Minnesota brand, Cheerios wanted to acknowledge the loss of a musical legend in our hometown,” said Mike Siemienas, manager of brand media relations at General Mills, in a statement. “But we quickly decided that we didn’t want the tweet to be misinterpreted, and removed it out of respect for Prince and those mourning.” 
 
 For its part, 3M said its modified logo was a special piece of artwork to honor the music icon and would only be on social media channels on Thursday. 
 
 By now, one would think brands would have figured out that there are pitfalls to injecting their commercial messaging, however well-meaning, into discussions of tragedies on social media. 
 
 As CMO Today noted last fall, many companies have gotten the hint, for example, that they should maybe skip the tweets about Sept. 11. 
 
 Recall that in 2014, the hashtag #WhyIStayed was trending on Twitter, as victims of domestic violence shared why they remained in abusive relationships. DiGiorno tweeted, “#WhyIStayed You had pizza.” Realizing its gaffe, the brand, which is owned by Nestlé SA, issued an apology on Twitter. 
 
 Best Buy, BBY 0.72 % for its part, recently apologized for making light of a 1999 murder when it tweeted about the hit podcast “Serial.” The program explored whether or not a Maryland branch of the electronics store had a pay phone, a key detail in the case. 
 
 Add the Cheerios flap to the list. 

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 Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives. 
 
 When famous people die, it isn't just fans who react. 
 
 Some brands decide that they, too, must offer their respect and condolences in some way. 
 
 Perhaps it's to show customers that they understand them. Or perhaps it's just to snag a little news for themselves. 
 
 When Prince died Thursday, many companies and groups emitted tweets of purple sympathy. 
 
 NASA, for example, featured a purple nebula. 
 
 Lenovo tweeted: "He embodied so much of what we prize most: fearlessness, love and a refusal to stand still." 
 
 That one might have seemed a touch strained. Why insert yourself into someone else's death? 
 
 Cheerios, based in Prince's home state of Minnesota, went a little further. It adorned its Twitter account with a "Rest In Peace" message in which the dot over the "i" was a Cheerio. 
 
 This was viewed by some as crass commercialism. For example, tweeter Coin Flip Experts featured it in a tweet with the thought: "Imagine Cheerios sending this to you after your Dad dies." 
 
 The Cheerios tweet was soon removed. 
 
 Cheerios parent company General Mills didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. However, the company told Ad Age: "As a Minnesota brand, Cheerios wanted to acknowledge the loss of a musical legend in our hometown. But we quickly decided that we didn't want the tweet to be misinterpreted, and removed it out of respect for Prince and those mourning." 
 
 Cheerios is far from alone in tortured tweeting. Just last week, KFC in Australia tweeted an overly suggestive photo. That tweet, too, was quickly pulled. The Cheerios tweet, however, seems particularly unfortunate because the brand is local. 
 
 One option for a brand is always to say nothing. A second is simply to say precisely what you'd say to the family of anyone who died. 
 
 Without any brand gimmick thrown in.
– It isn't just people and guitars gently weeping for Prince. On Thursday, Cheerios tweeted a purple image featuring the words "Rest in peace," dotted with a Cheerio, to honor the late musician. Reaction on social media was fast and furious, with people accusing the company of trying to capitalize on his death. It "broke new ground in tastelessness" was one typical tweet. While others were more forgiving, "we didn't want the tweet to be misinterpreted, and removed it," says a rep. The company 3M also tweaked its logo to purple and added a teardrop, though that met with similar complaints. "To be fair, both are Minnesota-based companies, and their tweets were genuine expressions of sadness for the loss of one of the state’s most famous residents," notes the Wall Street Journal. A post at AdWeek says the Cheerios image "felt like an ad," but it thought a Hamburger Helper tweet (since deleted) that used the company mascot was much worse. "A glove can only take so much sadness," read the tweet. Better received: NASA posted an image of a purple nebula, notes CNET.