Tarte: Marketing & Branding Fiasco

Bumping off of last week's post about FENTY beauty, this week we're touching on Tarte cosmetics, more specifically, they're recent fiasco.

Last week, Tarte released a post on their Instagram (x) with this meme:

Users and customers responded furiously, criticizing Tarte's use of a well-known Asian slur (ching chong). This post has since been deleted, but the effects haven't disappeared. Tarte first apologized in a social media post which placed the blame on an intern, but it didn't do much to help the growing disdain for their public image and brand. Maureen Kelly, CEO & founder of Tarte, personally sent out an apology saying, "From the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry and embarrassed."

Twitter blew up from the scandal, with posts such as:

Some users directly put Tarte on blast for their initial half-hearted apologies.

Some thought it was silly for an intern to be handling such a large account, and for there to be no accountability for what goes on the page before it gets posted. Others found that it wasn't relevant to the issue. 

Does this affect how you view Tarte? In a broader view, do these types of incidences affect your spending and/or views of brands? Do you have any examples yourself? I'd love to hear your thoughts--comment below!