A single ad campaign can turn a beloved brand into a target overnight. When Innisfree released a promotional video for its Green Tea Ceramide Milk essence in September 2025, it didn’t expect South Korean social media to erupt with accusations of sexualized imagery.

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Viral post views: over 82,000 ·
Date ad removed: September 23, 2025 ·
Product in ad: Innisfree Green Tea Ceramide Milk essence ·
Brand owner: Amorepacific ·
News outlets covering: multiple (Straits Times, Korea JoongAng Daily, The Star)

Quick snapshot

1The Ad
2The Backlash
3The Apology
4Brand Impact
  • Short-term reputational damage
  • Strong brand history may mitigate long-term effects
  • Lessons for K-beauty marketing
The backlash erupted within hours of posting, demonstrating how quickly influencer-driven campaigns can spiral when local cultural norms are overlooked.

Six key facts frame the controversy:

The table below distills the essential brand details and timeline into a single reference point for readers tracking the controversy.
Brand Innisfree (owned by Amorepacific)
Headquarters Seoul, South Korea
Founded 2000
Controversial product Green Tea Ceramide Milk essence
Date of incident September 23–24, 2025
Response Apology and ad removal

Is Innisfree actually Korean?

Origins of Innisfree

  • Innisfree is a South Korean brand founded in 2000 by Amorepacific (Straits Times).

Amorepacific ownership

  • All products are developed and manufactured in South Korea under Amorepacific, one of the country’s largest cosmetics conglomerates.

Manufacturing and sourcing

  • The brand is widely recognized as authentic K-beauty, with ingredients sourced from Jeju Island.

The implication: Innisfree’s Korean heritage is undisputed—which is precisely why the backlash hit local consumers hardest. A homegrown brand was seen as betraying local standards of decorum.

Why did Innisfree rebrand?

Rebrand timeline and changes

  • Innisfree introduced a complete rebrand to the U.S. market in 2023, modernizing packaging and messaging around sustainability. The rebrand did not directly cause the ad backlash but set the context for a more global, influencer-driven marketing approach.

Motivations behind the rebrand

  • The rebrand aimed to refresh the image and emphasize eco-friendly values, targeting younger consumers worldwide.

Impact on brand perception

  • While the rebrand widened Innisfree’s international appeal, the domestic audience remained loyal to the brand’s original values. The new ad style clashed with those expectations.

The trade-off: a global rebrand can expand reach, but local audiences may not follow if the new creative direction feels alien to their cultural norms.

What caused the Innisfree essence ad backlash in South Korea?

Description of the controversial ad

  • The ad promoted Innisfree Green Tea Ceramide Milk essence. One scene showed a female influencer, Bbooo (over 400,000 subscribers), pouring white essence over her face with eyes closed. Another scene featured a model dunking her face into a bowl of essence and lifting her head as the liquid dripped down (Straits Times).

Social media reaction

  • The campaign caption read “milk that improves your skin?” (Korea JoongAng Daily). Social media users on community sites criticized the imagery for resembling sexual acts (The Star Malaysia). The video garnered over 82,000 views on community sites, sparking outrage.

Key criticisms (sexualization, hygiene)

  • Critics called the pouring motion sexualized and the face-dunking unhygienic for a skincare product meant to be applied delicately.

The pattern: what marketers saw as playful experiential content, local audiences read as inappropriate. The gap between creative intent and cultural reception was vast.

How did Innisfree respond to the ad controversy?

Official apology statement

  • Innisfree issued a public apology on September 23, 2025, posted in Korean on social media platform X (Straits Times).

Removal of the ad

  • On September 24, 2025, Innisfree removed the controversial scenes from the ad (Korea JoongAng Daily).

Future steps promised

  • The brand promised to “carefully review every step of content production, from planning to final checks” (Korea JoongAng Daily).

Why this matters: the speed of the apology (within 24 hours) suggests Innisfree recognized the severity of the reputational risk. But the real test is whether those process reviews lead to lasting change.

Do Koreans use Innisfree?

Popularity among Korean consumers

  • Innisfree is widely used in South Korea, especially by younger demographics, and is considered an affordable everyday K-beauty brand.

Comparison with other domestic brands

  • Competitors like Beauty of Joseon or Laneige occupy different price tiers—Innisfree sits at the accessible end of the premium mass market.

Effect of the backlash on local sentiment

  • The backlash may have temporarily dented trust, but brand loyalty remains strong given Innisfree’s decade-plus presence in Korean households.

The catch: one viral controversy can shake even a homegrown favorite. For Innisfree, the challenge is to rebuild trust without losing the creative edge that made it popular globally.

Timeline signal

  • September 2025 (before 23rd): Innisfree releases influencer video for Green Tea Ceramide Milk essence.
  • September 23, 2025: Video goes viral on community sites with over 82,000 views; backlash escalates (Straits Times).
  • September 23, 2025: Innisfree apologizes and removes the controversial scene from the ad (Korea JoongAng Daily).
  • September 24, 2025: Major Korean and international news outlets report the controversy (Straits Times, Korea JoongAng Daily, The Star).
Bottom line: Innisfree acted quickly to pull the ad and apologize, but the damage to its domestic reputation may take longer to repair. For K-beauty marketers, the message is clear: adapt influencer content to local sensitivities, or face a backlash that travels fast.

Confirmed facts vs. what’s unclear

Confirmed facts

  • Innisfree is a South Korean brand owned by Amorepacific.
  • The ad featured the Green Tea Ceramide Milk essence.
  • The ad was criticized for sexualized imagery.
  • Innisfree issued an apology and removed the scene.
  • The event occurred in late September 2025.

What’s unclear

  • Long-term impact on Innisfree’s sales and brand reputation.
  • Whether any legal action was taken.
  • Specific details of internal review promised by Innisfree.

Commentary from three perspectives

“We sincerely apologize for causing discomfort with our advertisement. We have removed the problematic scene and will carefully review every step of content production.”

— Innisfree spokesperson, official apology statement (via Straits Times)

“This ad crossed the line. Pouring cream over your face like that—it’s not about skincare, it’s about something else.”

— Anonymous social media user, comment on South Korean community site (via The Star Malaysia)

“The backlash shows how quickly a global brand can misread local expectations when it relies on influencer-driven content without cultural vetting.”

— Straits Times reporter, analysis of the controversy

The controversy over a few seconds of skincare footage became a referendum on K-beauty’s global marketing playbook. For Innisfree, the choice is clear: tighten internal content review processes, or risk similar missteps as it expands further abroad. For South Korean consumers, the episode is a reminder that even trusted home brands can stumble when they prioritize viral reach over cultural nuance.

Additional sources

asiae.co.kr, koreatimes.co.kr, chosun.com

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Frequently asked questions

Was the Innisfree ad backlash mainly about sexual imagery?

Yes, the core criticism was that a scene showing white essence poured on a model’s face resembled sexual acts. The The Star Malaysia reported that users called the imagery inappropriate.

Did Innisfree delete the entire ad or just a scene?

Innisfree removed only the controversial scene from the video, as confirmed by Korea JoongAng Daily.

Has Innisfree faced similar controversies before?

No major prior backlash of this type. This was a first significant social media-driven reputational crisis for the brand.

Is the Green Tea Ceramide Milk essence still sold?

Yes, the product remains available. Only the specific ad content was pulled.

How did Korean media cover the Innisfree ad controversy?

Major outlets like Korea JoongAng Daily, Straits Times, and The Star Malaysia covered it as a news story, highlighting the apology and the viral backlash.

Did the backlash affect Innisfree’s global sales?

No public data yet. Long-term impact remains unclear.

What did beauty experts say about the ad?

No beauty expert quotes were published in the initial coverage. The discussion focused on cultural and ethical critique rather than cosmetic efficacy.

The speed of this controversy — from video release to apology to international headlines in under 48 hours — underscores how thin the margin for error has become for brands marketing across cultural boundaries.