Some tea drinkers think something fishy is going on.
As AI-generated images creep their way into everything from memes to hair inspiration pictures, customers are becoming increasingly suspicious of what they’re seeing on store shelves.
And now, one woman is accusing a beloved tea brand of quietly making a change to their artwork—possibly with the help of AI.
Which brand is she accusing?
TikTok user Maxine (@mamamaxinee) posted a video that racked up more than 83,000 views after she spotted what she says is a suspicious update to the classic Sleepytime tea packaging.
In the clip, she compares two boxes of Celestial Seasonings tea. One shows the familiar bear, sleeping peacefully by the fire. The other shows a vanilla-flavored version featuring the bear chilling outdoors in a hammock.
“This is NOT a drill,” she wrote across the screen.
“You guys, AI got the Sleepy Bear time guy,” she says, stumbling on her words a little. “Who is that? He goes fishing now?”
She then reminisces on what he’s supposed to look like.
“No, he’s sleepy, he’s in bed, he’s in front of the fireplace,” she exclaims. “There’s mosquitoes out there. Someone help him.”
@mamamaxinee This is a day ruiner #sleepytimetea #fyp #ai ♬ original sound – mamamaxinee
Is Celestial Seasonings using AI?
It’s unclear. The brand doesn’t mention anything about AI on its website, and actually seems to celebrate its art and the illustrators who helped bring their iconic designs to life.
And as some commenters pointed out, the vanilla packaging might not be new at all.
“Real Sleepytime tea drinkers know the bear on the vanilla packaging has looked like this for the past decade,” one person wrote. “Not everything is AI.”
Another added, “That flavour and packaging has been here long before the AI debacle. But to be fair, OG packaging is way cuter.”
Still, not everyone was convinced.
“I am inconsolable,” one person commented.
Another said, “Noooooooo. His hat isn’t sleepy, it’s built for the outdoors.”
Whatever the truth is, people clearly have strong feelings about brands using AI on their packaging.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
