Fake apologies from brands are all over Instagram
Call it an untraditional apology tour.
In the days leading up to Black Friday, brands like Tower 28, JVN Hair and Material Kitchen have taken to social media to ask followers for forgiveness and to say “sorry.” The catch: They’re apologizing for their products being too good.
“To everyone who started using Meltdown and suddenly stopped cancelling plans because of a breakout — we owe you an apology,” Blume Skincare wrote on Instagram earlier this month. “Our Drying Lotion is causing breakouts to pack their bags and leave overnight, which has reportedly caused shock, awe, and an unreasonable amount of compliments,” Mario Badescu said. “We are truly sorry that our candy tastes so good. But we can’t help it,” low-sugar gummy brand SmartSweets chimed in.
These fake apology posts, as they have been dubbed, represent the latest trend brands have jumped on to go viral and drive engagement. It’s a way to capture the attention of a generation that’s accustomed to companies taking to Instagram to issue apologies for data leaks, tone-deaf marketing campaigns and a host of other corporate missteps. Still, not everyone is a fan; communications experts told Modern Retail they feel the trend has been overplayed and worry it could backfire on brands if they need to issue a real apology in the future.
Still, brands say they these posts do work in getting people to stop mid-scroll. Case in point: Bladder-support brand Uresta told Modern Retail its Instagram version pulled in almost double the usual likes.
The format of these posts is “very specific to what we would expect from an actual corporate apology,” said Anjali Bal, associate professor of marketing at Babson College. “And that’s important, because [users] will stop and read it.” She added, “Getting consumers to read something is increasingly difficult for companies to do. But if it’s funny, [users] are more likely to get through the whole thing.”
The trend, embraced by companies in the U.S. and abroad, has proven polarizing. Some Instagram users find it amusing. “This is fantastic marketing 😂😂😍,” one user commented on Tower 28’s post. Others are getting tired of the scheme. “Nice concept, but it comes across a little overdone,” a Facebook user told KitKat Canada, which apologized for “an uncontrollable urge to take a break.”
Many marketers agree that the bit is getting old. “It’s starting to feel less like clever marketing and more like everyone submitting the same homework,” Jessica Levinson, senior retention marketing manager at Milk Bar, wrote on LinkedIn. “My LEAST favorite trend of 2025,” Scarlett Stack, director of social media at Portland Leather Goods, commented on LinkedIn.
Brands, for their part, have said the posts are a way to get their name and message out while cracking a joke. Uresta, whose products are designed to stop bladder leaks, mentioned women “clutching their pearls” in its fake apology.
“We sell such a serious product that can be a bit isolating, … so we want to lean into humor,” Lauren Barker, Uresta’s CEO, told Modern Retail. “It’s one of our brand pillars. We’re all laughing at the same joke. There’s this shared feeling of, ‘I’m not alone in this.'” She added that Uresta has the benefit of being a small team, which allows the company to “respond to trends super quickly.”
But from a communications perspective, public relations experts have their reservations. The fake apology posts are “clever at first glance, but they wear thin fast,” Molly McPherson, a crisis and reputations strategist, told Modern Retail. “Personally, I don’t think people want to feel hoodwinked by a brand they likely follow. Sure, the posts get views — anything [signaling] a posted apology tends to get a click — but that doesn’t mean it builds connection.”
Others worry that the marketing stunts could come back to bite brands if they need to issue real apologies. “It’s quite commercially naive of a lot of organizations to use this tactic, because they’re almost saying they’re hoping that they never have an actual crisis in the future,” Andy Barr, who works in public relations and crisis communications, told Modern Retail. “When they do put out a crisis statement, people aren’t going to take it as seriously.”
Uresta’s Barker told Modern Retail that the company used language that was fun on purpose to distinguish from a serious, formal apology; the fake apology included the line, “We didn’t realize women would immediately start wearing sexy underwear in public, with confidence!”
“Of course, if there was something real, the tone would be a lot different than a cheeky message,” Barker said. “But hopefully, we don’t ever have to be in that position.”
Fake apology posts have been around for months now, although more are popping up as companies take notice. Barr, who is based in the U.K., recalled seeing fake apology posts from international brands as early as 2024. “But they’ve reached a peak in the last couple of months,” he said. Barker, meanwhile, saw her first fake apology post when scrolling Instagram earlier this year. Multiple brands, ranging from sleep gummy brand Moonbrew to nutrient-infused ice cube brand Roxii, have posted fake apologies in the last week and a half alone.
Marketing sources think the trend may start to fade soon, given that social media users are likely to have caught onto the ruse. “Do I think the fake apology is the next fit check?” Bal asked. “No, I don’t.”
“This is one of those situations where if you were early to the trend, great,” Bal said. “But the more this happens, the less you’re going to see the effectiveness of it. … [As a brand,] you can only do a fake apology once.”