A comedian’s viral joke about Lovesac’s 24-box couch assembly wasn’t the problem. The company’s response was

Furniture brand Lovesac, best known for its premium cloud-like oversize beanbag chairs, is receiving backlash online after it attempted to create a cultural moment on social media. 

Last week, Dallas-based social media creator and comedian Deric Cahill posted a video about his latest delivery and assembly of a Lovesac “sactional,” or sectional couch.

What happened

In the video, posted on August 18, Cahill jokingly referred to the delivery of the unassembled modular couch, which he told Inc. made up a total of 24 boxes, and its time-consuming assembly as “corporate terrorism.”

Much of the assembly of the modular components involves stuffing inserts into covers. Some of Cahill’s followers had even preemptively suggested he use gloves when he had shared his purchase to his users on his Instagram story, which he called a “VIP move” in his video. 

Many of his followers took to the comments to share their own experience or reaction to his five-hour assembly time. 

“8k and my husband and I almost got a divorce putting this **** together,” one TikTok user wrote. Another user added, “as a FedEx loader, these always ruined my day.” 

The following day, Lovesac CEO Shawn Nelson reached out to the comedian via direct message and asked to hop on a call and “chat about how we could take this further,” Nelson wrote, according to screenshots posted by Cahill. 

Nelson had also posted his own video to his personal social media page, in which he jokingly responded to Cahill’s video, referring to some of the jokes made by Cahill, and said the comedian was “entitled to compensation” and Lovesac would send him a “new pair of size small floral-print gardening gloves,” among other comments.  

Not everyone was amused.

“Is this the real response? Lovesac should probably consider firing their Social Media team, such a missed opportunity here,” one user wrote. 

That wasn’t all. On Thursday, ahead of the company’s call with Cahill, Lovesac posted a video of an employee stuffing a section of the modular couch into a cover with the following message: “this and not getting the ick from a grown man needing tiny little gloves to assemble a couch,” along with the caption “the feminine urge to provide the masculine energy.”

Social media users and even some companies, like Wendy’s, took to the comment section to share their reactions. 

“Turns out the hardest thing to assemble wasn’t the couch. It was a competent PR response,” one user wrote. Lovesac’s post garnered more than 442,000 views on TikTok. 

Cahill responded with his own follow-up video, explaining the timeline, the backlash aimed at Lovesac, and the company’s attempt to rectify the situation, as per his video.

Cahill declined to comment further on what was discussed during his call with the company.

Then, Nelson made another post. This time, it was on Lovesac’s official account to address the backlash, where he claimed to have personally understood the setup process saying it is “no joke,” while also saying the company’s “previous videos were meant to just have a little bit of fun.” 

That video seemingly did not land with customers and viewers either, triggering a reaction very similar to what the previous videos had. 

“If u put together my wayfair couch for me ill help u with your social media. Its a fair trade,” Wendy’s wrote. 

Cahill’s response

Cahill told Inc. his original video was simply made to “draw attention to the absurdity of the couch’s assembly.”

“I’m a comedian, and both on-stage and online I provide my authentic perspective of everyday challenges that people go through—and in this case, it was a couch assembly,” he said. 

While he said he had never expected for things to go this far, he added that despite some speculation, this was not a PR move on his part. 

Experts say

Karen Freberg, a professor of strategic communication at the University of Louisville, told Inc. that this is an example of “how quickly a brand moment can shift online,” adding that the backlash is “understandable.” 

“Audiences today are incredibly savvy and can tell when a brand is naturally participating in a conversation versus trying to manufacture a viral moment,” Freberg said. 

She was quick to distinguish between Cahill’s post and the company’s follow-up.

“The original content worked because Cahill’s experience was relatable, funny, and authentic,” she said. “Once the response became more orchestrated, it changed the dynamic. This causes a lot of issues on all sides.” 

Freberg is also founder of the Bird’s Nest, a full-service marketing agency. While Lovesac’s instinct to engage with the viral moment wasn’t the issue, she said, it fell short when it came to its execution and handling the escalation online. 

Rather than overcorrecting or attempting to create additional content explaining the joke, Freberg said to “listen to what people are saying, show some self-awareness, acknowledge that the joke may not have landed as intended, and move forward,” adding, “The smartest brands know when to join the conversation, when to add value, and, perhaps most importantly, when to leave the moment alone.” 

Lovesac did not respond to Inc.’s request for comment at the time of publication.

—By Victoria Salves

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This article originally appeared on Fast Company’s sister website, Inc.com. 

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