I accidentally got Red Lobster some earned media.

In February 2016, Beyoncé released a song called "Formation," wherein she sang these lyrics: "If my boy fuck me good, I take his ass to Red Lobster." Restaurant sales spiked, and the brand tried many different tactics in an attempt to capitalize on the free publicity.

For fun, I wrote a "Man Seeking Woman" Craigslist ad on the topic, searching for a date to the seafood restaurant.

Adweek thought it might be a guerilla marketing tactic. It was not. At least not one Red Lobster was initially aware of, and certainly not one they paid me for (beyond the T-shirt shown below).

Would I write this now, in my late 30s? Absolutely not. Not everything ages well.

Red Lobster’s PR agency tracked me down and gave me a T-shirt. And I received more than 100 responses to the ad itself. I wish I could say this was how I met the love of my life, but unfortunately it didn’t work out that way.