Oatside disguised an ad as a senior job — then told applicants its CMO was four years old

On 30 March 2026, Oatside Vietnam posted what looked like a genuine chief marketing officer vacancy on LinkedIn. The listing described objectives, responsibilities and benefits, provided a dedicated application address and accepted formal applications from more than 100 professionals within five days.

On 4 April, Oatside revealed that CMO meant 'Chief Milk Officer' and appointed four-year-old child influencer Pamela Hải Đường, whose qualification was described as four years of milk-drinking experience. Rejection messages reportedly told real applicants that they were too mature and linked them to the campaign video.

Applicants and other professionals objected that a recruitment platform and a difficult job market had been used as props. They also questioned what would happen to more than 200 submitted résumés. The backlash spread through Vietnamese news sites and forums instead of staying attached to the product launch.

Oatside admitted poor judgment, paused the campaign, contacted every applicant to apologize and said it permanently deleted the application data. It adopted rules reserving recruitment platforms for real jobs, requiring disclaimers on simulated processes and sending public-participation campaigns through a non-marketing sensitivity review.