Ulta Beauty sent out a marketing email on Sunday, May 1, the first day of Mental Health Awareness Month, to advertise an online sale. The subject line of only this one used “very insensitive choice of words.”
The subject line of the email sent on Sunday night read, “Come hang with Kate Spade,” which was, to put it mildly. Given that Kate Spade committed suicide in 2018, many people observed that it came across as very offensive. Ulta’s send mentioned an online promotion that offered a free three-piece deluxe Kate Spade gift set with any $50 purchase after the provocative headline. The Ulta Beauty advertisement was followed by a section titled “your Kate Spade starter kit,” which listed a few of the company’s most well-known colognes.
How callous and completely tone-deaf. The email’s timing was poor, as another user pointed out: “Whoever wrote the incredibly crude email headline at Ulta for the Kate Spade event yesterday also managed to do it on the first day of Mental Health Awareness Month. A disgraceful beginning by exposing the carelessness with which people frequently approach this subject.
In the subject line of an email sent by Ulta Beauty on Monday afternoon, they apologized.
In response to the outrage, Ulta Beauty promptly apologized. The brand wrote, “We have the utmost respect for the Kate Spade brand and the joy it brings to the fashion and beauty industries. Our teams at Ulta Beauty are made up of people, so this was truly an error that wasn’t meant to be harmful.
Additionally acknowledging May as Mental Health Awareness Month, Ulta Beauty stated in a follow-up email that “mental health is a very serious and important issue in this country, and not something we would ever take lightly.” We are making internal efforts to make sure that something similar never occurs again.
Additionally, the retailer apologized directly to Ulta Beauty customers, the Spade family, and Kate Spade brand partners. Simply put, this doesn’t meet Ulta Beauty’s standards. We appreciate your patience as we work to improve.
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text HOME to 741741 to message a trained crisis counsellor from the Crisis Text Line for free if you or someone you know is in danger.