Silly, silly Kay Jewelers. Doesn’t it know that creating a branded hashtag, especially one that isn’t even a word or phrase, is just asking to be hijacked?
The jewelry brand has been airing a Valentine’s Day TV spot featuring a man sitting across the table from his girlfriend. She is so engrossed in her phone — i.e., not him — that he actually has to text her in order to get her attention. So he can give her a diamond necklace. How sweet, we guess. As the spot concludes, a hashtag appears on the screen: #ekbwk, which is meant to stand for the brand’s slogan, “Every kiss begins with Kay.”
Well, of course, the Internet wasn’t going to let this hashtag just go along its merry way without messing with it. Here are some of our favorite abuses of the #ekbwk hashtag. Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!
If I had to text my wife to get her to look up from her phone at dinner on Valentines Day, guess who’s not getting that jewelry? #ekbwk
— Pete Seroogy (@PeteSeroogy) February 14, 2014
Every kiss begins with kush #ekbwk
— Dab As Fuck (@DAFprobz) February 12, 2014
That bitch doesn’t deserve a gift she can’t even get her face outta her phone #commercials #ekbwk #kay #justsaying — Shannon Kilduff (@XoShannnonnnxo) February 14, 2014
I just tried to phonetically sound out the #ekbwk hashtag. Eck-bwak? @KayJewelers #excusemyjokes
— Brandon Pennington (@bpenn11) February 14, 2014
#ekbwk when you’ve given up on life
— Stop.Collab.Listen. (@nateh1026) February 14, 2014
Some marketing genius at Kay Jewelers thought #ekbwk was a good idea. #facepalm
— dana lancaster (@dwag29) February 1, 2014
#ekbwk How many times is it ok for my Uncle to gently kiss my neck?
— michael dwayne adams (@micdadam) February 13, 2014
If you take your girlfriend out to lunch and she’s texting the entire time you dump her you do not buy her jewelry #ekbwk #kayyouaredumb
— mEa (@maxinealden) February 10, 2014
#EKBWK then she gets pregnant, then you spend all your $ on kid, then you get divorced, then you’re in a home, then you die. Thanks Kay
— kiltimagh (@kiltimagh) February 9, 2014
Ppl that have to get a text to look up from their phone from their valentine deserve the cliché charm bracelet they got. #ekbwk
— thom andr (@samohtbackwards) February 7, 2014
Yeah, every kiss begins with Kay, but in my case my Christmas present failed with Kay. Ordered, paid, but still haven’t received. #ekbwk
— Jenny Donohue (@DonohueStar) February 7, 2014
The new KAY commercial is probably the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. It also has a terrible hashtag #ekbwk https://t.co/aArKg2WTJy
— Lindsey (@adventuresofL) February 5, 2014
Nothing ever changes, things won’t get better, and everyone will leave you. #ekbwk
— Carl (@trx0x) February 1, 2014
More in Marketing
DMexco ’26 Briefing: From scaling AI operations to teaching the next generation of ‘bold’ CMOs
DMexco 2026 media partner Digiday hosted two panels that outlined the challenge of AI at scale and the CMO of the future.
Marketers bemoan the culture of ‘good enough’ as standards fall amid the AI bubble
‘Drowning in measurement,’ marketers mull priorities in an internet where ‘two audiences’ exist.
Future of Marketing Briefing: Imagining the ad business hiding inside Meta’s Muse
Meta’s Muse is ad-free for now. Don’t expect that to last.