'Can cringe be a SEC violation?': $1 trillion investment giant Blackstone is getting roasted for its Eras Tour-inspired holiday video

• Blackstone released its annual holiday video on Thursday.
• The premise was Blackstone going on a Taylor Swift-inspired tour to woo over potential clients.

Companies are cashing in on the Taylor Swift buzz to release themed products and market their brands – and Blackstone is no exception.

The $1 trillion investment-management company released its annual holiday video on Thursday, and this year the premise was Blackstone copying Swift by going on an "Alternatives Era" tour to woo over potential clients.

In the six-minute mockumentary-style video, Blackstone president and COO Jon Gray jokes about his love for Swift, with one staff member saying he claimed he only went to her concert to take his daughters, referencing some of the memes circulating online.

The holiday video shows Blackstone's staff scrambling to organize the tour and write the music, including wondering whether "fajita" rhymes with "EBITDA."

Destinations for the tour include Legoland and the Great Wolf Resorts chain of indoor water parks and staff said that Bumble was encouraging couples to go to one of the concerts for their first date. The set starts with 10 minutes of disclaimer slides, which billionaire founder Stephen Schwarzman said "looks amazing on the jumbotron."

The video then shows a music video of Blackstone staff – largely middle-aged – singing and dancing in concert attire including sunglasses, sequinned jackets, and metallic shirts.

Lyrics reference the company's origins, mention its investments in AI and life sciences, and warn customers that it's "not to be confused with BlackRock."

But not everyone enjoyed the video. "How many hours did Blackstone spend putting this holiday video together" ruminated one person on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Can cringe be a SEC violation?" another user posted.

The Financial Times' Alphaville blog, writing about the video, asked: "Which to bleach first, the eyes or the ears?"

But some people stuck up for the video.

"They do a holiday vid every year," one X user wrote. "Honestly add a nice human element to the big banks/asset managers."