Free OWNDAYS Spectacles wasn’t free for long

For those who are unaware, OWNDAYS is a Japanese-based optical shop that has established itself in Singapore, with more than 25 outlets nationwide. A year ago in April 2017, the company made headlines with an unfortunate incident involving an Indian lady and her bracelet fiasco with OWNDAYS staff.

At the start of March, this optical chain went viral again locally for their unique promotion: garnering likes and followers on Instagram for free spectacles!

What was the deal?

OWNDAYS had reportedly placed advertisements at their outlets announcing this new campaign.

As shown in the picture above, one would stand a chance to redeem discounted or even free spectacles simply by uploading a suitable photo on their Instagram pages. The promotion was set to last the entire month of March as written.

With such an alluring promise of saving over 100 dollars (with spectacles their stores being priced between $98-$198), it is no wonder that the campaign exploded online.

Influencers and locals alike began sharing selfies of them in OWNDAYS shops and enterprising users even attempted to increase their savings by engaging in “like for like” behaviour online.

What was the problem?

OWNDAYS had reportedly not expected such an overwhelming response which led to the exhaustion of both staff and spectacle stocks.

On 8 March, OWNDAYS halted the promotion around midday, where staff informed customers that the discount was no longer valid. It is highly probable to assume that the number of free and discounted spectacles given out far surpassed OWNDAYS’ budget and marketing plans, leading to the promotion being ended way before the supposed end-date of 31 March.

To officiate this early end of the promotion, OWNDAYS took to Facebook and Instagram to share the news. 

Reactions by netizens

The comments that followed by Instagram and Facebook users ranged from positive encouragement to harsh criticism.

Many disgruntled users took to the social media platforms to express their disappointment with OWNDAYS’ event planning, especially those who had personally been rejected at outlets when attempting to redeem their discount.

There was significant usage of vulgarities and threats against OWNDAYS by extremely put-off customers who, among others, threatened to boycott the shop or spread bad publicity about their spectacles.

However, there were also grateful Singaporeans who commended the staff for excellent service despite the crowds and those who expressed their thanks towards OWNDAYS for coming up with such an innovative promotion.

What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments below!

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