Katie McCotter
← All work

Case 05 · Earned media · 2024

When ASOS copied my design.

No legal team, no ad budget. A phone, an audience and a story that turned a threat to a small brand into 20,000+ views and organic growth.

Role
Founder
Channels
TikTok, Instagram
Outcome
Tee pulled, compensation secured

20,000+

Views on the callout video

1

Global retailer product pulled

Original Stella's Studios oyster tee
Original · Stella's Studios oyster tee
Copied oyster tee sold on ASOS
Copy · Sold on ASOS

01

Context

My own customer community flagged it almost instantly: ASOS had uploaded a baby tee strikingly similar to my oyster design. ASOS customer service didn't respond.

02

Approach

I posted on TikTok laying out the original design, the timeline and a side-by-side comparison so people could judge for themselves, and used it to talk about the wider pattern of big brands lifting ideas from independent designers. Other small businesses and customers reposted it and tagged ASOS.

The public callout post about the copied oyster tee
The public callout
Behind the scenes of the original oyster design process
BTS · The original design process

03

Results

  • 20,000+ views on the TikTok callout, widely reposted across Instagram.
  • ASOS removed the tee and admitted the similarity by email.
  • I followed up using legal language around IP loss and secured compensation for monetary and customer loss.
  • New followers who found the brand through the story and stayed for future drops.

04

Learnings

Earned media can outperform paid when the story is genuine. Transparency, not budget, is what made this travel.