What does coffee naming have to do with a brand apology?

On August 24, the tea brand Chayan Yuese published a WeChat article titled "Working Hard, All for Nothing," using Slam Dunk to contrast adolescents and adults while promoting its new "Young Zhuangzi" drink. Readers objected to the negative framing, saying it stoked anxiety among young workers, and the topic trended on Weibo. The company apologized in the comments and deleted the post.

The episode fits a pattern in beverage branding, where copywriting choices carry risk similar to coffee naming decisions. Chayan Yuese had previously apologized over a misogyny controversy and its English name "SexyTea." The reaction shows how a single headline can overshadow a product launch and force a public response.

On August 24, the Tea Yan Yue Se official WeChat account published a post titled "Working Hard, All for Nothing," using Slam Dunk as an introduction to explore the differences between adolescents and adults, and to promote the new product "Young Zhuangzi." However, the negative sentiment conveyed by the title sparked widespread dissatisfaction among netizens, who believed it deliberately provoked anxiety among young people, and the related topic quickly trended on Weibo. Tea Yan Yue Se subsequently responded in the comments section, stating that the original intent was to express that effort may not necessarily bring rewards but the process is worth cherishing, and apologized for the inappropriate title, ultimately deleting the post. This is not the first time Tea Yan Yue Se has sparked controversy over its copywriting; it had previously apologized for a "misogyny controversy" and an incident involving the English name "SexyTea."

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On August 24, the tea beverage brand Tea Yan Yue Se pushed an article titled "Working Hard, All for Nothing" on its official WeChat account, quickly sparking widespread discussion and controversy online. (The post has currently been deleted.)

According to observations, the article opens with "Slam Dunk," comparing the different states of adolescents and adults from Tea Yan Yue Se's perspective, then promotes the new product "Young Zhuangzi" scheduled to launch at midnight on August 25. At the end, it also set up an interactive topic centered on the youthful spirit readers have lost during their growth and the moments when they still feel they retain a sense of youth.

Shortly after the post was published, many fans echoed the theme in the comments section, leaving messages such as "This title reminds me of another saying: life is just working for nothing plus working for nothing," "It really hits the hearts of office workers—wanting to be a free person but always setting limits," and "The first step to losing your youthful spirit: sleeping in every day, feeling like you're no longer young."

However, many readers also pointed out that the title had little relevance to the content and made it difficult to understand the article's intent. Even more netizens directly expressed disgust at the negative emotion conveyed by the title, finding the phrase "Working Hard, All for Nothing" uncomfortable. One netizen commented: "Although everyone talks about being depressed, lying flat, Buddhist, or emo, you can only say it yourself—if others say it, you easily get triggered, so it's better to say more positive things," and "Don't deliberately provoke anxiety among young people."

Subsequently, the related topic trended on Weibo, attracting even broader attention. Regarding Tea Yan Yue Se being criticized for the title being "too depressing," many netizens felt it was "unnecessary" and believed it was merely a meme added by the brand to promote the new product, with no need to be overly sensitive.

Facing various controversies, Tea Yan Yue Se officially responded in the post's comments section: "What we originally wanted to express was more that, just like the performance of our Young series works, with all the ups and downs over the 3 years since their launch, perhaps effort may not necessarily bring the desired results, but one might as well cherish the effort put in during the process."

Finally, regarding the article title becoming the focus of controversy, Tea Yan Yue Se officially stated that it was very sorry for the discomfort caused by the inappropriate naming of the post. It would be more cautious in choosing titles in the future to avoid misunderstandings caused by its own issues, and it was also very grateful for everyone's reminders. The post was deleted this morning.

It is reported that this is not the first time Tea Yan Yue Se has sparked controversy in promoting new products. As early as 2021, Tea Yan Yue Se fell into a "misogyny controversy" due to inappropriate copywriting. In 2022, the signage of Tea Yan Yue Se's new Nanjing store translated the brand's English name as "SexyTea," once again sparking controversy among netizens, and the final outcome was again an apology.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.