I wasn’t sure where to put this as covers a lot of the threads on here but seeing as MM is one of the biggest culprits + plus possibly the most “popular” topic on Tattle atm though I would stick it here.
I have just come from CS’s page where a few of the middle level influencers are having a moan about the new ASA rules, one who shall remain unnamed as I do quite like her was saying that she already struggles with photo captions and this just made it harder....
I was struck by a few things.
They keep throwing around words such as authentic, organic, sincere and relatable with their content and again we read things like the muthhood and supporting each other as we are all part of the strong girls club and even though they are in their 1.3 million cottage outside London with their Bobbi Brown lipsticks and 7 pairs of Dubarrie boots...one pair for every outfit of the week and yet I’m in a married quarter in Plymouth, feeling down the the back of the sofa for lunch money for my kids and and wearing an inside out Pyjama top to do the school run we are the same because we both have kids and we are both women.
But yet here we have it in truth straight from an “Influencers” mouth, she doesn’t really have anything to say to us other that try and slyly influence me to buy shite that we definitely don’t need, take that away and we are useless to her because let’s be honest we are really nothing alike and in RL she wouldn’t even say “hi” in the street.
Secondly (here was where the penny really dropped for me) I couldn’t quite work out why marking the posts of all the “gifted” stuff as AD has really got the wind up all their sails, I mean sure it does mean that most of their posts and stories will be marked AD and yes we will get a glimpse at the true amount of free shit they get and reminded again just how unlike we really are
*scrapes the last drop out of her Aldi serum but it’s really shaken some of them and here’s why.
A paid add is clear, the product name is within the post, it’s generally a very posed picture and mostly the brand is in fitting with the influencer.
MM and Ella’s kitchen is a prime example. We have scoffed at the irony of how convenient and healthy the pouches are when in reality they are overpriced rubbish that could replicated by buying boiling up a swede and a few carrots but it’s fitting for the Meldums because they are a convenience family, who are not particularly bothered about waste or expense and are heavy on their brands and names so most likely her sheep are too and therefore an ideal family of influencers to sell the product.
The same with the Lego debate ironically I also have 3 girls and our youngests also have the same name but that’s where the similarities end, I try to raise them in a gender neutral environment, my girls are farm girls and are usually found hanging upside down on a tree, attached to a pony or reinacting all the musicals from A-Z. My point is if I was an influencer Lego friends wouldn’t be sending me their products to sell as our life wouldn’t fit their brand.
But thing with adds is even without the AD sign they are easy to spot and clear what the influencer, product and brand are trying to achieve, cheesy, not always relevant but very easy to scroll on buy but then we come to the topical “Gifted”...
Gifted to me is basically the child catcher in a phrase. “I’m going to talk to you about my disaterous morning and what naughty things my toddler has got up to and how im just a normal mum getting by” but all the while I’m going to be applying my £30 lipgloss, packing my £200 suitcase or loading my £1,500 washing machine which have all been gifted but undeclared...
Ahh you are my friend influencer and we are so alike so I will fall into one of these 3 categories, I will feel sad and unworthy because we are so alike but I can’t afford these wonderful things that you have.
I love you and your life and I’m going to bleat at your feet as I aspire to obtain all the free shit you have.
Or best case scenario for the brand im going to go out and buy these things all the while feeling so close and like my buddy who is incidentally rubbing their hands with glee because the “Gifts” will keep coming.
It’s so fucking sneaky and not only is it everywhere it’s now, unfortunately for the Influencer, got to be announced everywhere showcasing the absolute opposite of what they have been trying so hard to make us believe, they are not sincere, their content is not organic, transparent, raw, creative or uplifting it’s deceitful, ugly and each post, story and comment is there to bring the £££’s in and nothing else.