The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2024
BRSG's condom box looked so much like Pepero that an idol posted it by mistake
BRSG's 'Love Day' condom box, made for Pepero Day with GS25, looked enough like the snack that K-pop idol Eric posted a photo of it thinking it was Pepero.
BRSG · 2024-11-11
What happened
For Pepero Day 2024 (11 November, when Koreans exchange Pepero-brand chocolate sticks), Korean intimate-products maker BRSG partnered with convenience chain GS25's operator GS Retail on a limited 'Love Day 11.11' condom box styled to look like a Pepero box.
The Boyz member Eric posted an Instagram photo of Pepero-day letters to fans with what he believed was a box of Pepero beside them — it was BRSG's condom box. He didn't notice until fans pointed it out, deleted the post, and apologized: 'Honestly, I feel so embarrassed I want to hide for a week.'
BRSG apologized the following Monday, taking responsibility for making its packaging 'too cute, too adorable' to distinguish from the snack it was designed to resemble.
Why it happened
- A packaging tie-in built to mimic another product's look succeeds exactly when it becomes indistinguishable — BRSG's design succeeded at that goal and got the exact accident the goal implied.
- A promotional gimmick aimed at retail shelves didn't account for how the product moves once it leaves the store — a fan's phone camera was a context nobody in the design process planned for.
- The apology owned the resemblance as the whole problem, not the idol's mistake — correctly locating the design choice, not the accidental user, as the actual cause.
The lesson
BRSG's Pepero Day condom box looked so much like the actual snack that a K-pop idol posted a photo of it by mistake. The company apologized for making the resemblance too convincing.
Aftermath
BRSG did not withdraw the product; the incident mainly generated viral amusement rather than lasting reputational damage, and Eric's own apology drew as much attention as BRSG's.
Sources
- BRSG apologizes for 'confusingly cute' condom packaging — The Korea Times
- Condom manufacturer Barun Saenggak issues an apology for the Pepero Day mix up — allkpop
spotted an error? The club wants to know.
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