--- title: When Branded Merchandise Backfires - Inck Merchandise description: Macy's recent Branded Merchandise Fail proved that when it comes to portion size, people are easily offended. Why so much hate for a plate? image: https://hubspot.inck.com.au/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Artboard-3-1.png --- [Skip to content](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/hate-for-the-plate-when-branded-merchandise-backfires#main-content) ![Inck Branded Merchandise Specialists](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Inck-Square-Black-Clear-RGB0-1024x510.png?width=1024&height=510&name=Inck-Square-Black-Clear-RGB0-1024x510.png) - [About Us](https://www.inck.com.au/about/) - [Our Work](https://www.inck.com.au/our-work/) - [Our Approach](https://www.inck.com.au/our-approach/) - [Explore Products](https://www.inck.com.au/shop/) - [Ethical Sourcing](https://www.inck.com.au/ethical-sourcing/) - [Blog](https://www.inck.com.au/blog/) - [Contact Us](https://www.inck.com.au/contact-us/) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [About Us](https://www.inck.com.au/about/) - [Our Work](https://www.inck.com.au/our-work/) - [Our Approach](https://www.inck.com.au/our-approach/) - [Explore Products](https://www.inck.com.au/shop/) - [Ethical Sourcing](https://www.inck.com.au/ethical-sourcing/) - [Blog](https://www.inck.com.au/blog/) - [Contact Us](https://www.inck.com.au/contact-us/) 4 June 2024 11:53:14 PM # Hate for the Plate – When Branded Merchandise Backfires [Adrian Davidson](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/author/adrian-davidson) Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/hate-for-the-plate-when-branded-merchandise-backfires) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/hate-for-the-plate-when-branded-merchandise-backfires) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/hate-for-the-plate-when-branded-merchandise-backfires) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/hate-for-the-plate-when-branded-merchandise-backfires) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/hate-for-the-plate-when-branded-merchandise-backfires) They say size matters, but when it comes to regulating *portion* size, it can spell big trouble for your brand. [Macy’s department store](https://www.macys.com/) recently bowed to online pressure to remove a range of plates and tableware that had twitter in a ‘body shaming’ uproar. Particular offence was taken by the plate depicting a small circle with the words ‘skinny jeans’ and a larger circle with the words ‘mom jeans’. Soon after receiving the negative feedback, Macy’s admitted they “had missed the mark with this product” and promptly removed the plates from its stores. Unfortunately for Macys’s, the tweet that started it all (‘How can I get these plates from @macys banned in all 50 states’) ended up going viral (5.7k retweets and 48k likes in the first three days), serving as a reminder that in this day and age offence is easily taken. Ironically, all the negative attention had a positive result for [Pourtions](https://pourtions.net/), the company who created the plates for Macy’s. Online order’s for their tableware has tripled in volume since ‘Plate-Gate’, proving that the old ‘no such thing as bad publicity’ adage still rings true. If you are looking for branded merchandise for your business that will create an impact, but less of a stir (for example our very own [Nestle Portion Plate](https://www.nestle.com.au/nhw/nestle-portion-plates) that we designed and delivered), get in touch with the team at [INCK](https://www.inck.com.au/) today.   [Branded merchandise fail](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tag/branded-merchandise-fail), [Whoops](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tag/whoops), [Design and Creative](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tag/design-and-creative), [branding](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tag/branding) ## Related posts [![](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pexels-pixabay-258083.jpg?height=200&name=pexels-pixabay-258083.jpg)](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tesla-branded-merchandise) [Design and Creative](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tag/design-and-creative), [branding](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tag/branding), [Blog](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tag/blog) ## [Tesla Branded Merchandise?](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tesla-branded-merchandise) [Adrian Davidson](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/author/adrian-davidson) 5 June 2024 12:13:53 AM Looking to slip into something more comfortable? For those of you who don’t mind your shorts extra... [Read more](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tesla-branded-merchandise) [![](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Sustainable-Branded-Merchandise.jpg?height=200&name=Sustainable-Branded-Merchandise.jpg)](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/entitys-sustainable-range-branded-merchandise-made-responsibly) [Eco-friendly](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tag/eco-friendly), [Sustainability](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tag/sustainability), [corporate social responsibility](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tag/corporate-social-responsibility), [Blog](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tag/blog) ## [Entity’s Sustainable Range – Branded Merchandise Made Responsibly.](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/entitys-sustainable-range-branded-merchandise-made-responsibly) [Adrian Davidson](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/author/adrian-davidson) 5 June 2024 12:13:34 AM Sustainable Branded Merchandise. Getting dressed in a suit and tie is so 2019. Which is one of the... [Read more](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/entitys-sustainable-range-branded-merchandise-made-responsibly) [![](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pexels-maitree-rimthong-1602726.jpg?height=200&name=pexels-maitree-rimthong-1602726.jpg)](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/promotional-merchandise-3-great-ways-to-save-on-cost) [Blog](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/tag/blog) ## [Promotional Merchandise – 3 Great Ways to Save on Cost.](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/promotional-merchandise-3-great-ways-to-save-on-cost) [Adrian Davidson](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/author/adrian-davidson) 5 June 2024 12:13:44 AM Looking to save money on your promotional products and branded merchandise? Here are 3 top tips to... [Read more](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/promotional-merchandise-3-great-ways-to-save-on-cost) facebook-f icon linkedin-in icon Twitter icon instagram icon - Menu Item 1 - Sub-menu Item 1 - Another Item - Sub-menu Item 2 - Menu Item 2 - Yet Another Item - Menu Item 3 - Menu Item 4 --- [![Inck Branded Merchandise Specialists](https://hubspot.inck.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Inck-Square-Black-Clear-RGB0-1024x510.png?width=1024&height=510&name=Inck-Square-Black-Clear-RGB0-1024x510.png "Inck Branded Merchandise Specialists")](http://www.inck.com.au) 123 Main Street, City, State 11111 Copyright © 2026, Inck Merchandise ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Adrian Davidson", "url" : "https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/author/adrian-davidson" }, "dateModified" : "2024-06-04T13:53:14.867Z", "datePublished" : "2024-06-04T13:53:14.000Z", "headline" : "When Branded Merchandise Backfires - Inck Merchandise", "image" : [ "https://hubspot.inck.com.au/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Artboard-3-1.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hubspot.inck.com.au/blog/hate-for-the-plate-when-branded-merchandise-backfires", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://hubspot.inck.com.au/hubfs/Inck-Square-Black-Clear-RGB0-1024x510.png" }, "name" : "Inck Merchandise" } } ```