Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) — AOL Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong is on a long list of corporate bosses who put their trust in an apology to contain fallout from an embarrassing public statement.

Armstrong said he was sorry and backtracked on a 401(k) policy change days after he cited the cost of "distressed babies" on the AOL health-care plan as a reason the company needed to save some money. That came six months after he expressed his regrets for firing a creative director on a conference call as thousands of employees listened.

The best outcome for Armstrong will be if the uproar blows over, as it did for American International Group Inc.'s Robert Benmosche and Google Inc.'s Eric Schmidt after they said things they publicly regretted. In some cases, chef Paula Deen's among them, even multiple apologies don't take. In others, a faux pas is a sort of last-straw for already eroding confidence, as it was for Lululemon Athletica Inc. founder Chip Wilson when he said his company's pants "don't work for some women's bodies."