If you’re chronically on TikTok like most of the world, then I am sure you have seen all of the drama surrounding the new brand, 4 The Mems, a brand that only offers pajamas and was created by social media influencers. The controversy and social media uproar about this brand ultimately led to the company having to lower its prices.
Why did the drama originally start?
If you were in the market for some new pajamas, what would you consider spending? I would probably spend anywhere between $20-$30, possibly up to $40 on my own purchase. Social media influencers Cecily & Samantha Bauchmann priced their pajama sets at $98. Which got the internet in an uproar. So much so that it kind of forced them to lower their prices.
Why has the drama continued to escalate?
While the internet was on its rampage about the pajamas priced at $98, another social media influencer, Gabbie Eegan, decided to purchase their own pair and decided they would give an honest review to let everyone know if they were really worth it. Unfortunately, her order was canceled and refunded, prompting Eegan to post a video about it leading to more outrage.
An interesting set of back and forth ensued. Samantha from 4 The Mems responds. Click to see Samantha’s response as to why Gabbie’s order was canceled. She said they were informed that Gabby posted on reddit saying she was going to give a negative review on the pajamas regardless. But in the same video that is linked above, Gabby countered Samantha’s argument saying she has never posted on reddit and that her very original video that she made stated that she would give a HONEST review.
Would you blame 4 the Mems for taking the steps to ensure their company’s brand? Or was it an overreaction? Like the rest of us, they could have easily taken a look at Gabbie’s page to confirm the speculation.
But to make matters worse, Samantha adds in a little petty remark, “No shade to you personally – I didn’t even know who you were until this – just protecting ourselves. But wanted to give you the space to speak.” This one really pissed people off. It was an unnecessary comment and was really just giving mean girl energy. Personally, if someone told me that, it would immediately anger me!!!!
The internet is always watching!
Social media allows for information to travel much faster than traditional news. On top of that social media allows the world to constantly watch what their favorite or most hated celebrities/influencers are doing. But at the same time they are also watching you. 4 The Mems got to catch the problem for their company early on because of how quickly the news spread around on social media platforms. They were able to address the concern however their responses still garnered additional negative reactions. Even if $75 is still a lot of money for pajamas, nonetheless the company answered consumer concerns.
But this situation goes to show you just exactly how much influence these TikTok stars have. They truly leave an impression on people, especially the younger generation. Messy Samantha made the drama get so much worse with her nasty response to Gabbie. The video where Gabbie shows Samantha’s response has 8.4 million views on TikTok within 5 days. But on top of that, you have hundreds of other creators posting about the drama. So millions of people are seeing this within a matter of days and now all of these people are forming their own opinions on 4 The Mems. And most of these opinions don’t seem great.
I believe that this situation should be something that all businesses learn from – big and small. If you do something negative it will spread. Sometimes not all publicity is good publicity. As 4 the Mem has just started out, this may not be good for them in the long run and follow their brand.
Teaching Social Media 