When news broke that Prince had passed away on Thursday afternoon, tributes poured in on social media. Companies jumped on the chance to get in on the action, but in trying to promote their brands, many of them struck the wrong tone.

Who got it wrong?

There’s a subtle difference between paying tribute and making a public figure’s death all about the brand, according to John Yorke, president of Toronto-based marketing agency Rain43. He told BNN that once consumers are turned off by a brand, it can be difficult for them to overcome that discomfort.

3M and Cheerios were two brands who got their tributes wrong, according to Yorke.

“Why would you put your own logo with a tear in it?” he said about 3M’s tribute. “I think when you try to jump on that bandwagon like 3M did, you’re at a huge risk of making it about you and not about the death of the celebrity.”

Cheerios had to pull down its tweet after social media users complained. The company posted a image which read “Rest in peace” on a purple background, but used a Cheerio to dot the i.

“Why does it need the Cheerio in the social media tweet? You don’t need to make it about your logo or your brand,” said Yorke.

Who got it right?

Companies that made understated tributes came out on top on social media, according to Yorke. These were companies that simply changed their social media icons to purple, instead of more overt changes.

He says Maker’s Mark decision to make their bottle purple was “a nice tribute.”

The Minnesota Twins and Tivo were two companies based in Prince’s hometown that also made tasteful tributes, according to Yorke.