The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2024
Chagee Malaysia's 'Tear & Win' went viral — an employee was filmed hiding the prize cups
Chagee Malaysia's campaign showed an employee hiding prize cups. The apology was called ChatGPT-made. Chagee threatened legal action against the whistleblower.
Chagee (霸王茶姬)
What happened
In late 2024, Chagee Malaysia launched a 'Tear & Win' campaign for its seventh anniversary, offering customers who bought a large drink a chance to win luxury prizes — iPhones, designer bags, perfumes, and lipsticks. A TikTok video went viral showing a Chagee employee hiding cups with hidden prizes at the back of the store, sparking accusations that the campaign was rigged.
Customers accused Chagee of reserving prizes for influencers or VIP customers rather than ordinary buyers. The brand's apology — which said the employee's behaviour 'does not reflect the standards we hold ourselves to' — was mocked as ChatGPT-generated. When an X user named Naquib reposted the video, Chagee privately contacted him demanding removal and threatening legal action.
The legal threat turned a credibility crisis into a confrontation. Public sentiment, measured by DATAXET Nama, was 90% negative. Chagee's brand word cloud shifted from positive terms ('pretty,' 'best') to negative ones ('delete,' 'scandal,' 'threaten'). Boycott calls spread. The campaign designed to celebrate an anniversary became the brand's defining controversy in Malaysia.
Why it happened
- The viral video was the evidence: a hidden camera showing an employee stashing prize cups confirmed what customers suspected — the campaign was not random.
- The ChatGPT accusation stuck: a generic, formulaic apology in the age of AI reads as manufactured — the audience demanded sincerity and received a template.
- The legal threat was the escalation: threatening a whistleblower who reposted a public video turned a credibility question into a free-speech confrontation — the legal move was the PR disaster.
- The sentiment collapse was quantified: 90% negative sentiment and a brand word cloud dominated by 'scandal' and 'threaten' meant the campaign had inverted the brand's positioning.
The lesson
When a video shows your employee hiding the prize cups, the campaign is over. Threatening the whistleblower turns a credibility crisis into a free-speech fight — 90% negative sentiment is the ROI.
Sources
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