Cloak

About

Cloak is a clothing brand created by popular YouTubers Markiplier and Jacksepticeye intended for gamers. The brand was criticized for its high price and minimalist design upon release, leading to accusations it was a "scam" or "cash grab."

History

On October 18th, 2018, popular YouTuber Markiplier posted a video announcing a clothing brand called "Cloak" that he had made with Jacksepticeye. In the video, Markiplier explained that the clothing is intended to be subtle so that the branding isn't as obviously present as it is on clothing from other brands. He also explained that they wanted to make the clothes responsibly. The following day, Markiplier and Jacksepticeye appeared in a video on Complex^[1] that formally announced and explained the story behind Cloak.

Both Markiplier and Jacksepticeye have pushed that the idea behind the brand is to be "hidden in plain sight," meaning that the brand will not "scream at the top of its lungs" on the items, as Markiplier put it. The brand has a website where people can purchase products,^[2] as well as an Instagram with over 126,000 followers.^[3]

Criticism

Criticism of the brand came swiftly for what was perceived as a high price for uninteresting-looking clothing. Redditor lilhuman231^[4] wrote on /r/markiplier:

i really think what Shaun and mark have done isn't really good and here's why, this is case and point people trying to use their fans as walking cash registers now the prices for these clothes are fucking ridiculous and no one i know would buy this you are technically buying grey and black clothes that you can get for ten dollars at target. they say that this is gaming clothes when everything i have seen these are not gaming clothes it's just a marketing trick being used to rope in a market of people which is very big.

Regarding the pricing, user xlegendarypete^[5] wrote:

I say that what Markiplier making clothes is cool and i think its cool. But He should learn about pricing. 80 Dollars for a Plain Hoodie is absurd. I know he claims its light weight and flexable but you should at least make it more colorful design wise.
35 Dollars Tshirts – I know clothes nowadays are not cheap but it basically looks like a plain Tshirt you could buy from from Burlington for about 10 to 15 dollars. only difference being its a little softer and has the Word cloak on it.

Wetheunicorns^[6] also covered some of the early online criticism of Cloak. The criticism ramped up over the course of the following month, particularly after Memology 101 posted a video accusing the duo of manipulating their audience that gained over 220,000 views (shown below, left). He also accused Jacksepticeye of faking his break from YouTube due to burnout and depression so that he could work on Cloak. YouTuber EightThoughts also posted a video criticizing the high price of the clothing, gaining over 71,000 views (shown below, right).

Keemstar also mocked the brand in a video in which he imitated Markiplier's attitude about the brand by offering $35 for a plain white T-shirt.

PewDiePie responded to the controversy by arguing that the high price tag is a side-effect of the brand's desire to make the clothes ethically, as cheaper, generic t-shirts one can get at any store are often made in unsafe working conditions. He also stated he liked the brand's minimalist design (shown below).

Search Interest

External References