FabFitFun Says Disastrous Anti-Woke Campaign Was ‘Dumb’ and ‘Off-Brand’
FabFitFun, the $1 billion subscription box company, is scrambling to clean up a PR disaster after a very questionable attempt at moment marketing backfired and caused many of its customers to cancel their subscriptions.
The campaign, which was deleted as soon as the outrage sparked, pledged $100,000 of X advertising “in support of its free speech ideals” and invited potential new subscribers to sign up and get a $300+ gift if they use the code “GoFuckYourself.”
FabFitFun confirmed the legitimacy of the ad on its members-only community board, acknowledging poor judgment and apologizing for any offense caused.
On Wednesday morning, founders Michael and Daniel Broukhim, and Katie Echevarria Rosen Kitchens addressed subscribers directly on the brand’s community forum.
“The ad we created was ham-handed and the profanity it introduced, particularly without the relevant context, is both out of place and out of character for our brand. For all that, we apologize,” Michael Broukhim wrote.
“We do not intend to politicize FabFitFun — that’s always been our intention, to make this an inclusive community that transcends a lot of society’s divisions. This ad was a miss on that mark,” he added.
The company defended its misstep, attributing it to a poorly thought-out attempt to participate in a viral moment through a marketing test. Kitchens further explained that the ad was supposedly a test because they hadn’t advertised on X “for a very long time.”
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“I do think it was meant to be a joke,” she said. “The issue is that it was just not funny at all. That’s my biggest problem. I know the team thought that it could be so outrageous that it could go viral. But I also think it was off brand for us – and not in a good, boundary pushing kind of way.”
However, the online community is not buying the explanation, or that it’s “off-brand,” pointing to the Broukhim brothers’ alleged support of Musk, their anti-“woke” sentiments, and anti-trans tweets.
“This is EXACTLY what gaslighting looks like,” a Reddit user wrote in the r/FabFitFun subreddit, referring to the apology that the brand’s community lead posted. “They didn’t apologize for doing it, they apologized for any offense it created. Screw these guys, there are so many options that don’t involve delayed shipping, expired products, poor customer service, or supporting this type of ideology.”
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