Lululemon brought the wrong drum to an activation. It’s the latest brand to fumble as it looks to China for growth

When done right, brand activations can bring real-life awareness and connect a brand with its customers. When not, these can turn sour quickly, bringing the opposite effect to a brand—as happened with activewear company Lululemon. The Canadian athletic clothing retailer recently organized a promotional event on China’s Great Wall, as part of its move toward gaining share in the Chinese market. But the event, which was meant to be a celebration of Chinese culture and wellness—with 2,000 guests invited to a yoga festival—quickly backfired. According to Chinese state-owned publication Global Times, Chinese actor Zhu Yilong was among the guests present during the event and participated in a drum troupe. But users on social media realized the brand had mistakenly used a Japanese Taiko drum, not a Chinese one. The event gained traction as the actor posted an image of himself with the drum, which boasted Lululemon’s logo, on Weibo, one of China’s main social media platforms. While the Japanese and Chinese drums may seem similar from afar—made with wood and cowhide tacked together—social media observers set them apart, flaming Lululemon for the mixup. According to Global Times, discussions about the drum mixup reached 50 million viewers, with users calling the error insulting and inappropriate. Following calls for the company to rectify the situation, Lululemon reportedly issued an apology via its Weibo account on Tuesday, and scrubbed videos and promotional materials related to the activation from their accounts. “We attach great importance to the feedback from the society,” the statement said. “Due to lack of professional knowledge, we failed to fully identify potential disputes early and have fully recognized that we ought to have planned and reviewed the percussion performance with more caution and thoroughness.” We’ve reached out to Lululemon for additional comment. Bad news spreads It wasn’t just social media users