Happy Nice Mall

Hell doesn’t rage like a social media mob who thinks they’ve spotted a luxury scam.

Or this weekend, when a series of viral TikTok videos featuring the $825 Chanel advent calendar and the disappointed customer who bought it went viral, it inspired plenty of users to foul the brand. Rather, all over the Instagram page.

In a way, this is the latest example of unlawful justice against powerful global brands by individuals willing to address perceived injustice and shifting balances of power between brands, including cultural appropriation, copying designs, and other forms of misconduct. and the audience.

But the sentiment around this anti-Christmas calendar campaign was particularly high, in part, perhaps because of the holiday involved and the idea that rather than representing goodwill towards customers, it suggests this particular gift item is being played for suckers. .

Here’s what happened: On December 3rd, Elise Harmon, a Tiktoker in California, posted a video of herself Unboxing the Chanel advent calendar Chanel No. In the form of 5 bottles.

“Am I crazy?” asked. “Absolutely. But I’ve never seen a Chanel advent calendar, so let’s see if it’s worth the hype.”

(She’d never seen a Chanel advent calendar before because she never had. This was a special holiday attempt to celebrate Chanel No. 5’s 100th birthday.)

Ms. Harmon gave the calendar a “10 out of 10” for packaging, but was upset when she opened a box and saw it had Chanel stickers. On the other hand, she liked a hand cream.

And so the unboxing is over eight more postsHarmon unveils perfumes (good), key chains (not much), lipstick and nail polish (mostly fine, even though they’re also sample size), a mirror (not), a string bracelet with CC. wax stamp (huh?), a plastic mini snow globe and … a Chanel dust bag, cotton bags for shoes or bags. It was the dustbag that really got people moving.

As of December 6, the series has been viewed more than 50 million times, and with each post, it’s mostly “you’re robbed” or “who do they think they are?” There are thousands of comments. lines. To wrap it all up, Miss Harmon told her followers that she said “blockedby Chanel.

despite Chanel There is a TikTok page, inactive and set to private, has no followers, so it wasn’t clear where Miss Harmon was blocked – she didn’t respond to requests for comment – but that didn’t stop her viewers from scrolling down Chanel’s Instagram account, The one who has more than 47 million followers and shares about the Métiers d’Art show that will be held in Paris on December 7th.

Beneath each photo of the work of the various private workshops that Chanel currently sponsors – the florist Lemarie, the embroidery workshop Montex and others – and in the promotional clips of the collection film, there are hundreds of comments: “Don’t ignore the inevitable! We want some answers!” And, “Is the movie financed by advent calendar sales?”

As of Monday, four days after Ms. Harmon’s original video, the action was still going strong and her follower count was growing. (Similar reaction in China, one blogger also described the brand’s advent calendar as not worth the money.)

As for Chanel, she has not made the matter public, but Gregoire Audidier, director of international communications and customer experience strategy at Chanel Fragrance and Beauty, wrote in an email: “The last claim that a person was blocked by Chanel on TikTok is false. An active account. “We have never blocked anyone from accessing the Chanel TikTok page, as there is no content and no content has been published. We are committed to sharing our creations with our followers on all social networks we are active in. Our pages are open to everyone and our followers are free to express their feelings and thoughts, whether they are enthusiastic or critical.”

Chanel isn’t the only luxury brand to offer an expensive beauty calendar, although it’s the most expensive. In fact, it was late to the game that started nearly ten years ago.

There are now a plethora of limited edition advent calendars of this type, including those from La Mer, Guerlain, and L’Occitane. dior ($550), armani ($310) and Saint Laurent ($300) also has beauty advent calendars. None of these are cheap, and most include a mix of beauty samples – mini versions of products that are often given free with a purchase – and full-size or limited-edition offers.

And beauty versions are just the latest iteration of advent calendars. Invented in the middle of the 19th century It has been commercialized over the years in Germany to teach children about catechism and spirituality. Even the Nazis created their own as a form of propaganda.

(The most expensive advent calendar on the market is probably the new $150,000 Tiffany version, the obverse is a reproduction of a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting from Tiffany’s latest “Equals Pi” ad campaign, and a four-foot-tall cabinet containing 24 gifts.)

So why did the Chanel version get people so excited? After all, luxury brands have never shied away from the fact that brand equity is what their customers buy, for the most part. A dust bag with “Chanel” on it is worth more than a bag with nothing on it.

Moreover, Chanel publishes the entire contents of the calendar on its website, so it’s no secret what anyone gets for their money. It’s unclear if their offerings are weaker than those of other brands.

But because it was new, and so expensive, and it was Chanel, with the mythology embedded in its name, the risks and expectations could have been higher. And the feeling of betrayal is greater when those expectations aren’t met—and it seems that the urge to pile up publicly in response is irresistible.

Those who gain from perception can also lose because of this. What Miss Harmon opened was not just a new mini-perfume. It was now a new reality completely out of the box.