---
id: "entity-poppi"
type: "entity"
source_timestamps: ["§ Originality: From Scripted Control to Storytelling Freedom"]
tags: ["beverage-brand", "case-study-failure"]
related: ["concept-originality", "entity-allison-elsworth"]
entityType: "organization"
canonicalName: "Poppi"
aliases: ["drinkpoppi"]
sources: ["attention"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-attention"
originDay: 4
articleStem: "hbr-foci-65-influencer-marketing-trust"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/12/how-to-do-influencer-marketing-that-customers-actually-trust"
sourceTitle: "How to Do Influencer Marketing That Customers Actually Trust"
---
# Poppi

A prebiotic soda brand that **failed the [[concept-originality|Originality]] dimension** during a **Super Bowl campaign** by sending **vending machines to the homes of several influencers**. The resulting posts were **identical and overly scripted**, leading to media and TikTok backlash calling the stunt **"out-of-touch bs."** Co-founder [[entity-allison-elsworth|Allison Ellsworth]] had to respond via TikTok. The archetypal "cloned stunt across many creators" failure. Enrichment note: the specific story matches informal TikTok/trade-press discourse rather than a formal quantitative case study.