They just couldn’t resist.
It was only a matter of time before nearly every brand name under the sun weighed in on “dressgate,” the viral phenomenon that has divided the Internet.
“Blue and black, white and gold — does it matter?” Downy fabric softener tweeted Thursday morning, along with a photo that read, “Who cares as long as it’s soft?”
“White and gold? Black and blue? All we see is white and red. #The Dress,” quipped Barefoot Wine.
“It’s not the color of #TheDress that matters, it’s the #party you wear it to,” wrote Party City.
Whether people like it or not, “the dress” is officially the talk of the town — and it seems like everyone with a social media account, including celebrities and politicians, has weighed in on whether they’re Team White & Gold or Team Blue & Black.
The picture of “the dress” was uploaded on the image-sharing website Tumblr by Caitlin McNeil, an aspiring 21-year-old folk singer from Scotland. The gown had been worn by the mother of one of her pals who was getting married and had stirred up controversy way before it took the Internet by storm.
“What happened was two of my close friends were actually getting married and the mother of the bride took a photo of the dress to send to her daughter,” McNeill explained to Business Insider. “When my friend showed the dress to her fiancé, they disagreed on the color.”
“All of our friends disagreed,” she added.
McNeil posted the photo of “the dress” online after noticing that her friends on Facebook also thought the gown was two completely different colors. The images soon went viral, and the hashtags #TheDress and #Dressgate quickly began trending on Twitter worldwide.
But no great viral sensation would be complete without a few big name brands joining in on the Twitter action and getting a piece of the proverbial pie.
“We promise, we aren’t messing with you. This dress is blue and black,” JCPenney tweeted, along with a picture that was definitely not “the dress” — but instead some random gown being sold in their stores.
Even the ACLU used the debate to its advantage, tweeting a picture of “the dress” along with a link to a page asking people to “Join the National Movement to Protect Civil Liberties.”
The civil rights organization even tried to imply that “dressgate” should really be viewed as full-fledged social commentary.
“We all see the world differently,” the ACLU’s Twitter photo reads. “We should not be discriminated against because of our beliefs.”
McNeill says she has been trying to keep up with the craziness of “dressgate” ever since she posted the photo on Wednesday.
“I thought my followers on Tumblr would maybe have a good reaction, but I never would have considered that Taylor Swift and Mindy Kaling would be tweeting about it,” she admitted, adding that she would be ecstatic if she could meet the “Shake It Off” singer.
Swift griped about the photo online, tweeting, “I don’t understand this odd dress debate and I feel like it’s a trick somehow. I’m confused and scared. PS it’s OBVIOUSLY BLUE AND BLACK.”
“Oh my God,” McNeil told Business Insider, describing a possible meet-up with the singer. “That would be something.”
McNeill — like Swift — plays guitar and sings, in a band named Canach, which plays music described as “traditional Scottish folky music.”
As for what her verdict is on “the dress” — McNeill says there’s no debate because she saw it with her own two eyes.
“Obviously it was blue and black,” she said.