Ellen DeGeneres' $55 Be Kind subscription box has become a fitting symbol of her broken brand

Slate

"The box is a logical extension of DeGeneres’ branding as maven of benevolence—but what exactly do you get when you buy kindness?" says Rachelle Hampton. "We reviewed the fall box to find out." Among the fall offerings were some Be Kind branded wireless headphones, a simple gold necklace with the word "hope" spelled out, eye masks, a “hygiene key" and a Be Kind exclusive watercolor kit that isn't particularly enjoyable. "The failed promises of the watercolor kit are maybe the best symbol of DeGeneres’ brand of niceness as a whole: a noble idea but disappointing in execution," says Hampton. "Kindness in its truest form is not about the giver but the recipient—in this case, DeGeneres’ audience and consumers. But the flow of money involved taints the exchange, turning it purely transactional and largely empty. Subscribers aren’t buying kindness; they’re barely even buying DeGeneres a write-off for donations to charity. Instead, they’re purchasing proximity to DeGeneres through a collection of items that are supposedly hand-picked by her. It’s hard to imagine a millionaire actually using any of this stuff."