‘Staples Baddie’ went viral. Here’s what the retailer is doing about its Gen Z employee’s internet fame |
By now, the so-called “Staples Baddie” may have crossed your feed with her tutorials and informational videos exploring her workplace. TikTok creator @blivxx, known online as Oblivion, started getting attention in January for highlighting niche services and products offered at Staples.
It’s a distinctly Gen Z approach to social media. Videos from Staples Baddie (whose real name is Kaeden) feature ASMR, heavy slang, and an authenticity that has viewers hooked.
Comments on Kaeden’s videos range from tame (“Staples better give you your flowers asap” on a January 21 post about business cards) to unhinged (“Staples did my BBL” on a February 6 video about the one-stop shop). Each video is flooded with users sharing that they went to Staples after seeing Staples Baddie’s (unofficial) promo.
The influx comes as much-needed relief for the office supplies provider. Staples has been open about its financial struggles in today’s increasingly online-shopping-driven economy.
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But what’s most effective about this kind of influencer marketing is that, well, it isn’t really marketing. Staples Baddie isn’t a paid micro-celebrity; she’s paid, but it’s her wage for working at the store. The creator’s videos are often filmed while she’s on the clock, with her sporting the Staples-branded red shirt, lanyard, and name tag. But she’s still found a way to be authentic about what she’s promoting—something that paid collabs with influencers often miss the mark on.
Staples Baddie is self-aware, too: In a January 30 video, Kaeden dryly argues that she deserves commission because “[she’s] like the Paris Hilton of Staples.”
And Staples seems to agree.
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