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A viral TikTok video showing an empty book signing for an elderly author tugged at millions of heartsuntil it was exposed as a marketing stunt. The book in question, Just Cuz, was reportedly written by Barbara Miller as a tribute to her late husband, Marv. She wrote it as a way to deal with her grief, the video’s voiceover explained. Posted last month, the video shows an empty bookstore with “Aunt Barb” setting up her books on a table to sign for customers who were nowhere in sight, followed by a dejected but hopeful “Aunt Barb”and it quickly racked up more than 33 million views, sparking an outpouring of support. Hundreds of commenters pledged to buy the book and attend her next signing. @justcuzthebook Nobody came to my aunts book signing, but she still had a smile JUST CUZ #justcuz #books #childrensbooks #fyp #justcuzthebook #kids original sound – Just Cuz But TikTok creator Sam Cahn was the first to burst Aunt Barbs bubble. The bad news is that this was fake, he said in his own video. The good news is the book is selling. @samcahntent aunt barbs just cuz book signing was a marketing move (it worked) #auntbarb #justcuz original sound – IG/YT: samcahntent Cahn became suspicious when he noticed how new Millers social media presence was and that there was no announcement of a book signing across any of her pages. After calling the bookstore, he found out that someone had paid $150 to rent the space on a Monday, when the store was closed, and staged the entire scene. This isnt an attack on Barb, he clarified. I think shes sweet. I love the success. He did, however, think it was worth calling out the 100% staged video from justcuzthebook. “I just want you to know that this didn’t happen: Nobody didn’t show up to a book signing.” The emotional manipulation tactic is, unfortunately, tried and true. “‘My parent did this thing but nobody came to see’ is always a marketing gimmick . . . but it gets me every time, one user commented underneath Cahn’s video. Omg I cried my eyes out on the original post, another wrote. On social media, the sob story has become a go-to strategy for struggling artists chasing virality. Pity appears to be a powerful currency, one that can turn engagement into attention and attention into sales. Its now not uncommon to see people sharing stories of professional failure (like Aunt Barb), seemingly in the hopes of gaining support, promotion, and even purchases from total strangers online. And often, it works. This kind of emotional marketing taps into our most basic instincts: If we feel bad enough for someone, were more likely to hit buy (regardless of whether the work in question is even good). Its a crass but effective tool, one that plays on our emotions for clicks. That turn into bucks. So, okay, maybe sometimes it pays to engage in a bit of emotional manipulation . . . just cuz. But let’s keep it to a minimum and maybe not use it with matters of great consequence, k?
Category:
E-Commerce
In an ad that aired in select markets during Sundays Super Bowl, Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, encouraged viewers to visit his website, Yeezy.com. The site originally listed a variety of merchandise, but right after the ad aired, quickly limited the selection to a single $20 white T-shirt emblazoned with a large black swastika. The site listed the product under the name HH-01, which, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), is code for Heil Hitler. Yes site hosted the shirt, but it was sold through the ecommerce platform Shopify. The shirt remained live until Shopify removed the listing this morning, and now searching Yeezy.com leads to an error page. While the T-shirt is no longer available through Shopify, Fast Company found that one reseller, as of this morning, had already listed the shirt for sale on eBay at a huge markup of more than $600. This suggests there is a secondary market for the shirts following a day of sales on the original site. [Screenshot: eBay] Following an inquiry from Fast Company, eBay removed the listing. But this afternoon, another reseller posted a listing for the shirt that blurred out the swastika symbol, possibly as a workaround to eBay’s offensive items policy. eBay has since taken down this posting, as well. The far-right has used similar codes and hate symbols during President Trump’s first term, and that practice is on the rise again. The dog whistles in conservative politics have become bullhorns in the Trump era, Robert Rowland, professor of communications at the University of Kansas, who studies Trumps rhetoric, told Fast Company in 2021. The incident calls into question how retailers should walk the line between upholding free speech and standing against hateful rhetoricespecially in an era when many major brands are walking back their commitments to DEI. Shopify and eBay respond to Ye’s swastika shirt In a statement to Fast Company on the takedown of the T-shirt listing, an eBay spokesperson said, eBay has zero-tolerance for items that promote anti-Semitism or hate of any kind. eBays Offensive Items policy prohibits the listing of anti-Semitic items, including any items from after 1933 that include a swastika. The shirts in question are covered by this policy and eBay is actively blocking or removing any listings for them. Sellers who violate eBay policies may face sanctions up to, and including, a permanent suspension. In reference to the removal of the Yeezy website, a Shopify spokesperson stated, All merchants are responsible for following the rules of our platform. This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms, so we removed them from Shopify. Apparently, Shopify was aware of the T-shirt listing by Monday afternoon at the latest, but discouraged its support staff from commenting if any merchant clients reached out about the item, according to a report from The Logic. This isnt the first time that Shopify has faced criticism for accommodating items that could constitute hate speech. Back in June 2024, Shopify appeared to have updated its Acceptable Use Policy to remove a previous ban of hateful content, replacing it with a condition that sellers cannot call for, or threaten, violence against specific people or groups. Then, in November, Shopify drew backlash for hosting a store that posted merch denying the Holocaust and parodying the likeness of Anne Frank. Shopify did not respond to Fast Companys request for clarification on the distinction between Yes swastika T-shirt and the aforementioned listings, which appear to still be live at the time of this writing. What this means for brands going forward The HH-01 T-shirt came after Ye published a series of antisemitic tweets to his personal X account, including one claiming, Im going to normalize talking about Hitler, which ultimately led to the shutdown of the account. Ye has a storied history of fallouts with business partners due to rampant instances of hate speech. Back in 2022, longtime collaborator Adidas cut ties with the artist after he published a series of antisemitic comments. Other brands, including the talent agency CAA and the tech company Kano, also ended their partnerships with Ye. It’s possible that Ye expected his Shopify site to go down, and even with the shutdown of the Yeezy domain, he got what he wanted: an attention-grabbing stunt, and shirts featuring hate symbols on secondary markets, indicating that the political climate is creating a permission structure for hate groups to wear what were formerly dog whistles on their sleeve. While Yes clash with Shopify is nothing new, it demonstrates a need for increased vigilance from companies like Shopify and eBay to screen their listings and act quickly to remove hateful products. Especially now, amid a complete crackdown on DEI policies from the federal level, the onus lies on brands to take responsibility for harmful imagery.
Category:
E-Commerce
The “American woman in Pakistan” now has a crypto coin. If you dont know who that is, American Onijah Andrew Robinson recently went viral after claiming she flew to Pakistan to marry a 19-year-old she met online, only to be rejected. Instead of returning home, she has become somewhat of a celebrity in Pakistan, holding high-profile press conferences in Karachi where she demands money and declares her plans to rebuild the country. Thanks to TikTok, she has since gone international as that “American woman in Pakistan.” In an interview with the City 21 news channel, Robinson announced her entry into the crypto market last week. I would like to say I am launching a bitcoin under Onijah, but it would run under Nidal Ahmed, she stated in a viral clip (Nidal Ahmed Memon is the name of her 19-year-old former fiance). Memon, for those keeping track, is the name of the man she apparently traveled to Karachi to meet and marry in October last year. At the time of the coin launch, Robinson had overstayed her visa in Pakistan by at least two months, remaining in the country despite her permit expiring. According to Bilal Hassan, a Pakistani TikToker who has been translating the saga into English for audiences around the world, Robinson allegedly catfished Memon during their online interactions, using a filter that made her appear as a blonde white woman. This revelation reportedly alarmed Memons mother, who locked Robinson out of their home and disappeared with the entire family. Nobody knows where they went, Hassan claims. A man claiming to be Robinsons son told a local news outlet that she has a history of mental illness and local news reports say she was admitted to a Pakistani hospital in February, where she was seen by psychiatrists. However, in recent weeks Robinson became a minor hit in Pakistani media. In one press conference, Robinson announced a plan to reconstruct this whole country. In order to do that, she said she needed $100,000 in donations. In another press conference, she asked for a weekly payment of at least $2,000. I want $20,000 up front, $5,000-$10,000 to stay here every week, she said, according to videos circulating on TikTok. And I want those demands from the government right away. Now, some four months later, local media reports she has finally left Pakistan.
Category:
E-Commerce
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