I was at a Sephora in Chicago last month and a sales girl stopped me mid-swipe. She asked why I was putting toner on a cotton pad and rubbing it all over my face. I told her that's what I always saw in tutorials. She just stared at me and said you're supposed to pat it in with your hands. I had been wasting so much product and probably scrubbing my skin raw without knowing. It was like a lightbulb went off in the middle of the aisle while other customers pretended not to watch. I went home and tried the hand method that night and my face felt way less tight and red. Has anyone else had a brand or store employee call them out like that?
I watched it live on Instagram around 10 PM... the CEO looked like he was reading off a teleprompter while trying to look sad. Then I checked their Twitter and they were liking memes 20 minutes later. Has anyone else caught brands doing this fake sincerity thing lately?
So my friend Maggie does crisis comms for a mid-size agency in Austin. Last week we were grabbing coffee and she broke down why most brand apologies feel fake. She said the real ones spend 3 to 5 hours crafting the message and include a specific timeline for fixing the issue, like "we will update our policy by April 10." The fake ones just say sorry and move on. I never paid attention to the wording before, but now I check for a date or a plan. Has anyone else started looking for those details in apology posts?
I was thinking back to that KFC chicken shortage apology in 2018 where they rearranged their logo to say FCK. That was clever and honest, not like the generic corporate statements we see now. Has anyone else noticed how scripted everything feels compared to a few years ago?
After watching that CEO stumble through a 3 minute apology for their data breach where he couldn't even say the word 'sorry' right, it finally clicked why people get so mad at these things. When did you last see a brand apology that actually felt real?
I spotted a brand's PR statement that actually apologized for the right thing and didn't blame the customer. It was for a coffee chain in Portland that messed up their allergy labeling last month and they just admitted fault without all that corporate spin. Has anyone else noticed a real apology that didn't feel fake?
I was scrolling through X last Thursday and saw this small makeup brand post a tone-deaf ad about 'skip the brush' during a wildfire crisis. The replies hit 1,000 complaints within 12 hours, and they still haven't apologized properly. Has anyone else watched a brand ignore backlash this badly?
I used their Fit Me foundation for like 7 years straight, it was my holy grail. Then they changed the formula around mid 2022 and it started pilling on my skin after 2 hours. I tried 3 different primers, even switched moisturizers, and nothing fixed it. Finally just gave up and moved to a L'Oreal one that costs almost the same but actually stays put. Has anyone else noticed their favorite drugstore product get quietly ruined like that?
I watched this lifestyle blogger's 12 minute apology for promoting a detox tea that she knew caused stomach issues... she kept pausing to cry but no tears came out. My dog even tilted his head at the screen like he was confused. Did anyone else notice her fake sniffles or am I just being too harsh?
I watched a brand drama unfold last Wednesday where a comedian called out a fast food chain for using a photo of their sandwich without paying them. The chain posted an apology that sounded like it was written by a bot. Then the comedian clapped back with screenshots of their DMs showing the brand had been rude first. The whole thing spiraled into five different apology edits before they finally settled on a gift card offer. Has anyone else noticed how brand apologies keep getting worse the more they try to fix them?
Last month I got an email from a company called DreamCloud Mattresses. They sent me a form letter saying they used a photo of me sleeping on my couch at a party without asking. The weird part was the apology included a coupon for 20% off my next mattress. I didn't even know they took the picture, and now I'm wondering how many other people got the same apology. Did anyone else ever find out a company used your image without permission? How did you handle it?
There was this skincare company called GlowVibe that posted a weird apology on TikTok after a customer found a moldy batch. Instead of just saying sorry and fixing it, the CEO tried to joke about it and people went insane in the comments. They pulled the video after like 4 hours but the screenshots are everywhere now. Anyone else think brands need to stop trying to be funny in these apology clips?
Everyone keeps praising GlowFix for their apology after the shade range fail last month, but I think they missed the whole point. They posted a 2-minute video saying sorry and promised 12 new shades, but they never actually said why they only launched with 6 in the first place. It took them 18 days to even respond to the backlash, and that video felt like a script their PR team wrote in an hour. If they really cared, they would have explained the supply issue or admitted to a bad decision instead of just waving a promise. Am I the only one who noticed the timeline doesn't add up there?
Was at a networking mixer last Tuesday and overheard this guy from a mid-sized dog food company bragging about how their 'accidental' mislabeling scandal got them 3 million views on TikTok. He was dead serious saying the apology video they posted has more engagement than any of their ads ever did. I get that impressions matter in our line of work but aren't we past pretending blatant screw-ups are a strategy? The other side is maybe attention span is so short now that people forget the bad part after a week. Curious what this group thinks - does the 'any press' rule still hold up in 2024 or did that die with the old media?
So I got this email from a skincare brand I've been using for 2 years saying they were sorry for a marketing fail where they photoshopped a model's skin too smooth last month. But the email was clearly written by some PR intern with generic lines like 'we value your trust' and zero specifics about what they'd change. On one hand, at least they acknowledged it publicly instead of ignoring it like most brands. On the other hand, does a copy-paste apology email actually fix anything, or is it just a checkbox? What do you all think - does a half-hearted apology do more harm than good in these situations?
I was super skeptical of Google Alerts because I thought it was just gonna spam me with nothing useful. But after that Whole Foods mislabeling thing last March, I set one up for my small candle shop and it caught a local blogger spreading a fake apology screenshot. It literally saved me from a whole PR mess I didn't even know was brewing. Has anyone else had luck with free tools for catching brand drama early?
I was waiting for coffee last Tuesday and this group was talking about how they don't even read apology statements anymore, they just scroll to see if the video is funny. Made me wonder if we've totally lost the idea that brands should actually mean what they say, or if that's just how things go now.
There was this skincare company that messed up a product launch last month. I paid close attention to how they handled it. One brand on my feed just posted a short text apology and went quiet for a week. Another one did a 3 minute video with the founder looking sorry and explaining the fix. The video one bounced back faster in comments and sales from what I saw. Has anyone else noticed which style actually wins back trust?
I jumped into a thread about that oat milk company's cringey influencer stunt last Tuesday, saying at least they were honest about their sourcing. Got 40 replies roasting me and a 2 hour debate that ended with me blocking three people. Anyone else get caught in the crossfire trying to play devil's advocate for a brand?
I got into it with my sister about that Whole Mood candle recall. She thought the apology video was sincere because the founder looked sad. I told her look closer they blamed the supplier for the glass exploding and only offered store credit. She said well at least they said sorry. I reminded her they didn't say anything about changing their manufacturing process or paying for the guy who got burned. It hit me that most people just want a sad face on screen and they'll forgive anything. But I think if you run a business you gotta actually fix the problem not just film yourself crying about it. Has anyone else watched these brand apologies and felt like they were reading off a script with no real plan behind it?
I bought this fancy night cream that claimed to erase wrinkles in 7 days from a brand I saw all over my feed. After a week my face broke out in tiny red bumps and I looked worse than before. Has anyone else gotten burned by a viral skincare brand on social media?
Saw this post last week from a skincare brand called DewDrop. Their ad campaign messed up by using influencers who clearly never tested the product. The apology video rolled out 2 days later with this AI generated image of the founder crying over her laptop. Not a real photo, obviously fake tears and everything. The comments tore it apart in about 30 minutes flat. Has anyone else noticed brands trying to skip the sincere part of apologies lately?
I was scrolling Instagram last night around 11pm and saw this beauty brand founder crying about a bad batch of products that gave people rashes. But she had perfect ring lights and a full face of makeup on while apologizing. Her team probably filmed it 3 times to get the tears right. Anyone else notice these apology videos feel staged now?
I was at a brand event last month in Austin and this girl from a skincare company told me they track unboxing videos way more than review posts. I had been just taking pics of the products on my kitchen counter and tagging them, no wonder my engagement tanked. She said they want to see the actual moment you open it, like the tissue paper and everything. Has anyone else been missing the point on how brands actually measure these collabs?