How Reese Witherspoon's Draper James teachers giveaway during coronavirus pandemic went horribly awry

Earlier this month, Reese Witherspoon's fashion line announced a giveaway on social media with the best intentions. As teachers were "working harder than ever to educate our children" remotely due to the coronavirus, Draper James wanted to show its gratitude by gifting teachers a free dress. The Instagram post issued the caveat "while supplies last," but it turns out the company wasn't nearly prepared for what was to come. Less than 1 percent of applicants got one.

The New York Times examined the giveaway gone wrong, revealing the label had only 250 dresses to send to teachers. There are more than 3 million public school teachers in the United States, many of whom are women, and almost one million hopefuls applied. As Draper James staffers realized they wouldn't be able to meet the demand, the company attempted to backpedal by contacting people who applied to explain it wasn't a giveaway, but a raffle.

Teachers started to express disappointment on social media and they quickly realized there were a lot of teachers who didn't get a dress. Was it all a "marketing ploy”?

In order to enter, teachers had to submit pictures of their school IDs and their work email addresses. Promotional emails soon followed and those who didn't win were offered a 30 percent discount.

"In many parts of the country, a lot of teachers really don’t feel appreciated, and don’t get paid very well, and the idea of a free dress during a high stress time was really exciting," Natalie Ornell, a substitute middle teacher in the Boston public school system, told the Times. "It was really like Cinderella. ... In the end, it felt like her brand profited more than the teachers."

"It’s like a marketing 101 fail," David Carroll, an associate professor of media design at Parsons, added. "The intentions were good, but the execution was terrible."

Draper James copped to being unprepared.

"We felt like we moved too quickly and didn’t anticipate the volume of the response," Marissa Cooley, the senior vice-president for brand marketing and creative at Draper James, told the Times. "We were really overwhelmed. It was way more volume than the company had ever seen. We expected the single digit thousands."

Cooley noted that staffers were very upset when the company realized the extent of the misunderstanding. Still, some of the blowback has fallen on Witherspoon, the brand's fearless leader.

"It was Reese Witherspoon!" Tammy Meyer, a kindergarten teacher in the Georgia public school system, told the Times. "She’s always been one of my favorite actresses. To have a dress associated with her at a time when everyone is so overwhelmed — I guess we were grasping at straws."

The Oscar winner had eagerly promoted the giveaway earlier this month.

"These past few weeks have shown me so much about humanity," the 44-year-old actress said in a statement to Today. "I’m an eternal optimist, so I always look for the bright side of things. And I have been so encouraged by the ways people are really showing up for each other. Particularly the teachers. During quarantine, teachers are broadcasting lessons from their own homes and figuring out new remote-learning technology and platforms on the fly, all while continuing to educate and connect with our kids. Advocating for the children of the world is no easy task, so I wanted to show teachers a little extra love right now."

However, the Little Fires Everywhere star has remained silent about the flop. (Yahoo Entertainment reached out to a publicist for Witherspoon, but did not immediately receive a response.)

Draper James issued a mea culpa over Easter weekend, telling applicants it was making a donation to a charity that supplies teachers with school necessities. The label noted it's "actively working on expanding our offerings, both internally and with outside retail partners who were also inspired by your stories and want to join in honoring your community, and we ask for your patience while we organize this effort."

The company didn’t say how much it was donating.

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