People think SKIMS’ terrible advent calendar was a marketing stunt, and it makes total sense

Kim Kardashian‘s SKIMS has found itself at the centre of a pretty spectacular Christmas marketing disaster after its expensive advent calendar was absolutely rinsed: But could the whole thing have actually worked out rather well for the brand?

Via SKIMS

The underwear company has been offering customers refunds after its £158 accessories advent calendar was dragged for its contents. What was supposed to be “twelve days of fun surprises” instead delivered a collection hair clips and keyrings, which were compared to the sort of random bits you might find lurking at the bottom of a handbag.

SKIMS has since responded to the backlash, with a spokesperson saying that “for some, the calendar didn’t meet expectations”. They added that the company had “personally contacted every customer” to offer either a full refund or credit to spend on other products.

On the surface, it’s a pretty straightforward case of a brand trying to make things right after a product launch goes spectacularly wrong. But some people have another theory: What if the whole advent calendar disaster was actually a very clever marketing move?

Via SKIMS

One Reddit user, who claims to work in marketing, reckons the backlash could have been intentional from the beginning.

“I work in marketing and this was absolutely a marketing tactic. They intentionally made it bad so it would go viral, which it did. They would have had a crisis communications plan in place prior to launch, allowing them to respond quickly and do any serious damage control, which they did.”

And when you look at the timing, it’s not necessarily a completely random theory.

i’m convinced that the skims advent calendar was shit on purpose for marketing because what do you mean, they sent an email to those who bought the calendar that they can have a $150 refund or can get store credit so that you can buy actual skims products that they wanna sell https://t.co/yC588AYpUt

— Kiara 🐝 (@KiaraGP44) November 8, 2026

Head to the SKIMS website and its homepage is already pushing its latest Christmas offerings. The brand is also preparing to launch its NikeSKIMS Waffle Racer trainers, with a waitlist already available.

Most Read

Where Joran van der Sloot’s parents Paul and Anita are now, 21 years after Natalee disappeared

SKIMS issues statement after its £158 advent calendar sparks huge wave of complaints

Natalee Holloway: What happened to brothers Satish and Deepak Kalpoe after their arrest

While everyone has been busy discussing the questionable contents of the advent calendar, SKIMS has been receiving a frankly enormous amount of free publicity just as it’s preparing to promote its next big launch.

All that attention is potentially sending thousands of curious shoppers directly to its website. There’s also the question of just how much publicity the calendar has generated. One TikTok unboxing video alone racked up 47.7 million views. That’s potentially millions of extra site visitors from a single video.

I was SO excited for the SKIMS advent calendar until I saw what’s actually inside… a few Poundland hair ties and a dodgy little bear? 😭💀 £150 FOR THAT?! Be so serious @skims you cannot be charging luxury prices for Poundland shop shite😂😂😂😂Sort it out 😭

— BACKUPSENDTOGEE (@sendtogeeBACKUP) November 8, 2026

But another Reddit user seems pretty convinced that the controversy was the point all along.

“I do believe the calendar was intentionally bad for this reason. An ok calendar or even a great calendar wouldn’t have gotten a fraction of this traction.”

And there’s another potential benefit to SKIMS’ response. By offering refunds or store credit, the brand has given itself an opportunity to turn some of the negative attention into positive coverage, with its customer service now becoming part of the conversation.

If customers choose the store credit option, they’re also likely to return to the website to spend it. Depending on what they buy, there’s even the possibility they’ll end up spending more than the value of the credit.

If the whole thing really was a marketing masterplan, it’s difficult to argue that it hasn’t got people talking.

For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook.

Featured image via TikTok