Chewbacca mask, Candace Payne.

Kohl’s Seizes Marketing Gold, Showers Woman Who Loves Chewbacca Mask With Free Stuff

Kohl’s Seizes Marketing Gold, Showers Woman Who Loves Chewbacca Mask With Free Stuff

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The Slatest
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May 21 2016 3:31 PM

Kohl’s Seizes Marketing Gold, Showers Woman Who Loves Chewbacca Mask With Free Stuff

freechewabaccamasksforall
Candace Payne cracks up as she and her daughter wear Chewbacca masks on Saturday.

Screenshot from Kohl's video posted on Facebook

What do you do if you’re the store that inspired the most watched Facebook Live video of all time? Hand over lots of free stuff as a thank you for all that free advertising, of course. So far, more than 112 million people have watched the video of Candace Payne laughing hysterically as she celebrates her purchase of a Chewbacca mask while in a Kohl’s parking lot. On Saturday, a Kohl’s representative stopped by Payne’s place to give her a bunch of free stuff, including Chewbacca masks for her whole family.

“We don't want you to have to stress about having to share your Chewbacca mask, so we 'confinsctated' masks for everybody," the Kohl's representative told Payne, a clear reference to her difficulty pronouncing the word "confiscated" in the video that went viral. The store also gave Payne and her family a bunch of Star Wars toys and gadgets as well as $2,500 worth of Kohl’s gift cards.

“These days, the only thing rarer than seeing something truly delightful go viral is seeing a brand respond in a way that's equally charming,” notes AdWeek.

Those who are hoping to get a noise-making Chewbacca mask of their own will likely have to wait in line. Or shell out hundreds of dollars. The mask quickly sold out at Kohl’s and many other retailers, including Walmart and Toys R Us. "We have received an overwhelming amount of interest in the Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens Chewbacca Electronic Mask by Hasbro since Candace posted her funny and lighthearted video," a Kohl's spokeswoman told CNBC. "The mask is currently sold out on Kohls.com." Some on Amazon are selling the mask, which retails at between $20 and $30, for as much as $299.95.

Daniel Politi has been contributing to Slate since 2004 and wrote the Today’s Papers column from 2006 to 2009. Follow him on Twitter.