By Oceanne
Christmas has always been a tradition that people looked forward to because it's a holiday that allows people to spend time with their family and loved ones, while enjoying gift giving and receiving.
Ever since Mariah Carey’s video for her single “In The Mix” went viral on November 1, 2019, it has had people talking about just how iconic it truly was. After the video of 2019, Mariah Carey decided to keep making more, which made people look forward to her posting a new video every year when Christmas was arriving. She gained the reputation of “the Queen of Christmas.” In an interview of 2024, she stated that the “Its Time” videos made her happy and that she loved it. These videos made people take it as a tradition every November 1st. It's something that's supposed to be optimistic and show motivation in difficult times.
The “It’s Time” videos are usually a partnership with known brands like Sephora. Sephora is a worldwide beauty retailer that sells a variety of makeup brands, including skincare products, fragrances, and hair care products from its own brand ,and other known brands like Fenty, Rare Beauty, Hermes, and more. They have made hundreds of collabs with influencers, singers, rappers, and other known people. The new Mariah Carey ad was not what people expected. People expected something similar to the older videos she had made in other years.
The ad made hundreds of people angry because they took this ad as a way of Mariah Carey mocking their financial situations. In the ad, there's an elf stealing Mariah Carey's makeup bags from Sephora and declaring that he's not getting paid well for the job that he's doing. He states that he’s overworked, then after the argument, Mariah Carey turns him into a snowman and rides around on a sleigh, throwing Sephora bags into the chimneys of some houses. People took this as her making fun of underpaid employees and the fact that people are struggling economically this year. Another reason would be how they think that she's making fun of the fact the government has been shut down and is no longer helping people with low income. They stated that she's inconsiderate and “out of touch “ because of the economic issues and inflation.