Chanel Roasted on TikTok for $825 Advert Calendar
In the days leading up to Christmas Day, some people like to use an Advent Calendar to count down the days, with a small gift each day. But last year, some people are not really feeling the Christmas spirit — like people who brought the Chanel Advert Calendar.
What Happened?
In December 4th 2021, TikTok was having a field day over a $825 @chanelofficial advent calendar unboxing videos posted by @Elise__Harmon
“Am I crazy?” she asked. “Absolutely. But I’ve never seen a Chanel Advent calendar, so let’s see if it’s worth the hype.”
Started with the video, Elise gave a “10/10” on the package front. And that’s it. That’s the only compliment she gave in the entire video.
The boxes include a range of items, including miniature perfumes, inexpensive key chains, sample-sized products, a rope bracelet (?), a Chanel dust bag and some stickers. The dust bag and stickers were apparently the main items that rubbed people the wrong way.
As soon as the video released on TikTok, it went viral on other social media apps such as Instagram and Twitter. People are so upset about the miniature, cheaply made, off-brand items that they’ve taken to Chanel’s social media account and started a social media war with the brand.
Furthermore, as Elise continued to post more videos, she claimed she was blocked by Chanel’s official account on TikTok, As of Dec. 6, the series has been viewed more than 50 million times, and each post has thousands of comments, mostly along the “LMAO” or “who do they think they are?” lines.
Where this brand went wrong?
Chanel didn’t response to it immediately or I would say has ever publicly commented on the backlash. As four days after Elise post the video, Chanel Spoken men sent an email via The New York Times claimed Chanel has never blocked access to the Chanel TikTok page to anyone. And after that Chanel made some comments here and there, saying things like “sorry that this calendar may have disappointed some people,” and “will be more careful for the future” through multiple publishers.
Chanel’s reaction took a very long time — they waited a few days before reacting on this controversy — and it’s not even official statement. The brand’s explanation was also poorly written and did not explain anything.
How this problem could have been prevented:
As a giant French fashion brand Chanel should have many experiences with crisis management and the PR team should have reacted as soon as the video was published. The fact Chanel is not being active on TikTok took the opportunity away from themselves to address this head before it blew up. (They actually deleted its account after this)
I also do think luxury brands like Chanel have built their reputation on many things so they should maintain their level of quality in every product they create and promote.
This was the first holiday initiative to celebrate the 100th birthday of Chanel №5, and I’m wondering if there is going to be a second time.
