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?
Saw Sweetgreen put out a statement yesterday about their new ownership changes. Sounded like a robot wrote it. No real accountability, just corporate speak. Felt like they were trying to smooth things over without admitting any mistakes. I've seen this play out a dozen times in small business. People just want honesty, not a rehearsed script. Anyone else find these big brand apologies ring hollow every time?
I followed this skincare person on TikTok who had like 200k followers and she kept going on about this fancy rosehip oil from some boutique brand. She said it would fix my dry patches and make my skin glow. I spent $45 on it which is a lot for me and used it every night for two weeks. My face turned into a pizza, just tons of little bumps and redness everywhere. I stopped using it and went back to my plain old CeraVe moisturizer from Target and my skin cleared up in like 5 days. I mean maybe it works for some people with different skin types but I wish I had just stuck with what I knew worked. Has anyone else gotten burned by a hyped up product from a big influencer?
I saw the whole thing last week at a friend's place, and honestly the husband buying the bike felt real to me. Maybe it's just me but I don't get why people acted like it was offensive, it just showed a normal gift situation. Anyone else think the backlash was overblown?
I checked out the apology from GlowFix after their foundation shade fail last week and noticed the wording was almost identical to a brand apology from 2022. They just swapped the product name and called it a day. Am I the only one who saves these to compare later?
Last week I was following that whole mess with the outdoor gear company that used stock photos wrong. They posted a video apology on TikTok and a written one on their blog. I shared the blog post thinking it was more professional, but people in the comments tore it apart for sounding like a lawyer wrote it. The video one had the CEO actually looking sorry and people forgave them faster. Has anyone else picked one format over another and saw it backfire for your reputation?
I saw this brand blowing up on TikTok promising instant baby-soft skin and ordered one for $60. Got it three days ago, used it exactly like the video showed, and I ended up with red raw patches all over my arms. Looked closer at the packaging and realized the brand is just a drop-shipper slapping their logo on $2 mitts from AliExpress. I wasted cash and my skin is still healing from the chemical treatment they lied about. Anyone else get burned by this same overhyped skincare tool?
I was grabbing coffee in Austin last month and this barista goes 'that brand apology yesterday was just fancy wording for we got caught.' They broke down how the company said 'we hear you' but literally changed nothing for 6 months. Has anyone else noticed brands using the same 3 apology phrases over and over?
Bought three shirts from a company that talked big about sustainability and fair wages. First wash and the seams on two of them started unraveling. Checked the tags and they're made in the same factory as the cheap stuff at the mall. Total waste of money and time dealing with their return process. Anyone else get burned by a brand that talks a good game but delivers junk?
Last week that skincare company posted an apology 3 hours after their ad blew up, but they got the details wrong and made people angrier. Then a food brand waited 4 days to respond to a labeling mess, and folks said they were ignoring it on purpose. I feel like there's no winning here, you know? Which side do you think actually works better in the long run, quick or delayed?
So I watched the whole thing. It was about their new 'sustainable' cups that turned out to be not recyclable at all. The CEO sat there for like five minutes, talking in circles. He said 'we hear you' maybe ten times. But he never gave a clear date for fixing it or a real refund plan. Just a lot of 'we're looking into solutions.' It felt so fake. I bought a box of those cups two weeks ago for $8.99. Now I'm stuck with them. How can a brand mess up this bad on a green promise and then give such a weak apology? What even makes a good apology video at this point?
Compared 'FreshBrew's' stiff, lawyer-approved statement last month to 'TrailMix's' raw, 2-minute Instagram Live apology yesterday where the CEO just said 'we messed up, here's exactly what we're fixing'. Anyone else think the live, unpolished approach works way better now?
They posted this 4 minute apology after their coffee machine recall, but the CEO was drinking from a COMPETITOR'S mug. People caught it instantly. I had to choose between thinking it was a huge mistake or a weird, sneaky ad. I picked mistake, because the stock price dropped 8% the next day. Their social media manager quit on Thursday, which kinda proved my point. Has anyone seen a brand mess up that bad in just one frame of video?