The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2024
Guming's meme ad put staff in 'I have sinned' signs and handcuffs, then apologised
A brand's joke video that put its own staff in 'I have sinned' signs and handcuff cup holders backfired into a public apology.
Guming · 2024-09
What happened
In September 2024 Guming's Guangdong branch posted a promotional video on Douyin and Xiaohongshu showing three store employees wearing '我有罪' (I have sinned) boards with mock charges like 'the crime of not giving straws', 'the crime of not giving lids' and 'the crime of knocking over the tea barrel', along with handcuff-shaped double-cup holders.
Netizens found the 'meme' uncomfortable rather than funny, called the marketing 'not funny at all, uncomfortable to watch' and said memes should be used in moderation, accusing the brand of not respecting its own staff.
On 18 September Guming apologised on Weibo with the line '对不起，我们玩梗翻车了' (sorry, our meme backfired), said the video borrowed the '舔狗罪' and 'double-cup holder handcuffs' Douyin memes, that it had already taken the video down, and promised to be more careful in future promotion planning.
Why it happened
- A joke that humiliates the people who make your product lands on the brand, not on the 'meme' it borrowed.
- Borrowing a viral meme without checking whether it reads as mockery of your own staff bet on the reaction it wanted to avoid.
- Apologising as 'sincere' while calling it a misunderstanding still left the discomfort with the employees in the video.
The lesson
A brand that borrows a viral meme takes on meaning it never asked for: humour that humiliates people who make the product lands on the brand, and a 'misunderstanding' apology does not undo discomfort.
Aftermath
Guming removed the video and kept the apology online, but the episode was cited as a warning that its marketing keeps backfiring, following an earlier June 2024 collaboration flop with the game 恋与深空. The staff in the video said they volunteered for entertainment and the penalties shown were not real.
Sources
- 新民晚报: 知名奶茶店公开致歉 '对不起我们玩梗翻车了' (the video, the sin boards, the apology)
- 封面新闻: 古茗茶饮玩梗翻车致歉 登上热搜 (the apology, the hot-search, repeated flops)
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