What Can Recent Controversies, Including Lululemon’s, Teach Brands About the Dangers of Cultural Insensitivity?

Brands and retailers have always engaged with the culture (or cultures) their customers also participate in, sometimes with mixed results. Whether one is speaking of Target’s on-again, off-again commitment to sociopolitical issues or Starbucks’ recent faux pas tied to an ill-considered “Tank Day” ad campaign which drew widespread ire in South Korea, the reality is that errors are being made by high-level teams on the subject of cultural sensitivity — or lack thereof.

Most recently — and the latest in a line of controversies for the athleisure brand — is Lululemon’s mix-up in the Chinese market.

“At a May 30 promotional event on the Great Wall of China, the company featured a giant Japanese taiko drum instead of a culturally appropriate Chinese dagu drum for a musical performance. The misstep immediately sparked backlash for cultural insensitivity and drew over 50 million views on Weibo—other Western brands, including H&M, Dolce & Gabbana, Dior, Burberry, and Gucci, have been caught in similar cultural crosshairs,” wrote Forbes senior contributor Pamela Danziger.

And while it took more than two weeks for Lululemon to issue an apology on Weibo while also taking responsibility for failures in its own planning process, it showed a further erosion of trust for the brand. Lululemon is seeing slowing sales both stateside and in China, and significant foul-ups like The Great Wall of China incident can deliver a widespread impression of carelessness in addition to the basic offense caused by a lack of cultural sensitivity. While it’s not a cultural issue, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also launched an investigation into the materials used in Lululemon’s apparel to determine whether “certain synthetic materials and chemical compounds” with negative health outcomes tied to exposure were present.

Starbucks Korea Shows Cultural Missteps Can Be Costly

Speaking of the Starbucks Korea fiasco, wherein it launched a “Tank” tumbler on May 18, the anniversary of a 1980 massacre in Gwangju wherein strongman Chun Doo-hwan deployed tanks and paratroopers to suppress a civilian uprising — resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people — the response was quick from the South Korean populace. Starbucks products were smashed in public, and Starbucks Korea CEO Son Jeong-hyun was dismissed immediately (alongside a senior marketing executive).

On June 22, hundreds of Starbucks locations in the nation closed for “social sensitivity training” and lessons tied to the history of the event, costing the company approximately $1.4 million. Sales have taken a significant dip (down about 25% versus pre-controversy levels) as public relations damage continues to show evidence of sticking around, despite measures being taken by the coffeehouse chain to do damage control.

How Can Brands Balance Authenticity and Differentiate Without Offending?

As a Business.com article penned by senior writer Julie Thompson outlined, the balancing act between authenticity and necessary differentiation in marketing is often a very difficult one — particularly in the age of social media campaigns.

“The problem is, these mistakes don’t stay small. Social platforms reward engagement, so once something starts getting attention, it tends to take off. A poorly timed or tone-deaf post can be screenshotted and reshared almost immediately — and people don’t just move on. They comment, quote it and keep it circulating, even after it’s deleted. What started as a small misstep can turn into a full-blown PR nightmare pretty quickly,” Thompson noted, outlining a few of the more interesting cases.

• Gap’s unity campaign falls flat: While Gap attempted to bridge partisan divides following the 2020 presidential election, the American consumer base wasn’t having any of it. Timing is key, political tension rarely makes for a great campaign, and Gap eventually pulled the post while admitting its half-red, half-blue hoodie was fictional in the first place.
• Bioré’s mental health messaging missed the mark: In an attempt to show understanding of anxiety during Mental Health Awareness Month, a bit of influencer marketing went awry as Bioré was seen as pushing a message made in poor taste. The influencer in question talked about experiencing a school shooting, and tying that experience in an attempt to sell beauty products came off as insensitive.
• Burger King tries getting cheeky on International Women’s Day: In 2021, Burger King UK created a Twitter thread leading with “Women belong in the kitchen,” with the remainder of posts to the thread detailing the company’s plans to increase gender equity in its operations. Only the first part really garnered attention, however — with the lesson being that good intentions tied up with a too-edgy message may not bring the desired effect.