I wasn’t sure if or how I wanted to write about this, but since this is after all a blog albeit mostly about beauty, I thought it quite a relevant question to ask you who read it.
I had a proposal land in my inbox recently, which culminated in an email telling me that I was to refrain from “endorsing” any other brand during the period that I was supposed to be writing about X brand’s products (assuming I accepted). I don’t want to talk about that email here – it left a very bad taste in my mouth. I was essentially told I was to attend events, review products and be 100% exclusive to X brand and no form of remuneration was discussed.
Interestingly also, no time frame was mentioned for when I was to be exclusively blogging for X brand. Essentially, X brand wanted me to use my blog and my voice, as a platform to endorse their products to all of you readers on the assumption you’d all be so enamoured, you’d rush out and buy it just because I said so. Doesn’t say much about their perception of all you intelligent readers either, does it?
Makes me a hell of a sell out if I had been offered half a million buckaroos as a realistic friend suggested. (I cannot lie. I might have done it for half a million bucks :P ) But since there was no money talk, I was essentially asked to be a product or brand endorser on my own platform, in my own time, at my own effort, exclusively for Brand X and for free. That also means no discussion posts like this one. Nothing but Brand X bombarded at you day after day (assuming I had enough content to write daily).
The enormity of it blew my mind – and a blood vessel. But I want to know if you readers take product endorsements by bloggers more seriously than if it was a celebrity?
In my case, I read a heck lot of blogs so I’m quite unfazed by product endorsements of any sort. I prefer a blogger who does not “endorse” but who honestly states their view. If they truly love the product, I will know, and I will know also that it is not a mere “endorsement” even if they were given the product. If they are just endorsing it for money, believe me, its quite obvious too.
I prefer reading what bloggers have to say about the products they have tried as opposed to an “endorsement”. Celebrity endorsements do nothing for me anyway (celebrity blindness remember?). But I am also realistic and I don’t buy into hype too often unless I can test it out for myself or unless I’m a right sucker for the product or brand :P See, I’m realistic too.
We talked about something like this once before, about whether you find bloggers credible and whether you are influenced by the blogs you read. We also talked about whether you were influenced by celebrity endorsements. Well, lets mesh it together.
Do you take product endorsements by bloggers more seriously than a celebrity endorsement?
Have your say.
Paris B
Celebrity endorsements do not work on me at all. Well, all endorsements don’t. Our main purpose as bloggers is to tell it as it is, no matter what platform/section/genre/object we blog on.
I’d like to thank you for being so honest with us to even discuss the emails you received about this issue. It is true that other bloggers are indiscriminate in their endorsements (I know a few, particularly those pertaining to “events”).
Well, at least I have a low readership so I won’t need to deal with this kind of, er, situation. But thanks to this post I now know what to do, heh heh heh.
I had to wonder about this, because said Brand X is also endorsed by a celebrity and to get bloggers to exclusively blog about it on top of celebrity’s endorsement was just strange. Its like they value a bloggers endorsement more nevermind that you might as well shut down your blog in the process :P And you never know just when emails like this may come through your mailbox ;)
neither but I do take blogger and commenters more seriously. its a platform between customers and product. But im not going to buy it if someone says its good. *2cents*
Celebrity endorsement in a beauty product is a lie. All of them use SK-II
Haha! i love your last statement – “All of them use SK-II” Indeed! :D
Ahaha..very good question – my answer is blogger!
To me it also depends on the blogger, the brand and of course the price! I would trust a blogger like you – honest in telling how you feel about the product. But I won’t RUSH and get the product blindly without testing it. Then comes to the brand, do I like it? And if the price of a product is very very cheap like RM5, perhaps I will just grab it? =P
Seriously I do think that brand X should respect bloggers~
Thank you Stephy and I’m glad you don’t just run out and buy it blindly. We are all so different with skintypes and tolerances, that there is no way something will work perfectly for everyone. I would be happy to give something RM5 a go in a blink, but less so if it was RM500. No matter who endorses it :P I don’t know what Brand X was smoking, honestly.
One of the many reasons I am drawn to your blog is because you write candidly, you are honest and your reviews are not fluffed like advertisements and endorsements.
Somehow, I associate biasness with endorsements.
And celebrity endorsements do nothing for me too.
Keep up the great work Paris :)
couldn’t agree more!
Thank you so much LSY, I appreciate it more than you know :) I do think reviews should be honest. Write ups can be fluffed, but never reviews.
Ahh, I’ve received emails like that too! So even there in Malaysia huh?
For me, if I like the product, I won’t even need a PR agency or the company to give me a contract to endorse about it, I would happily talk about it on my blog even without pay!
Yes, bloggers definitely get to be invited to endorse products, personally, I wouldn’t say “yes” as long as I personally USED and liked the product. I wouldn’t endorse anything (even with pay) if I don’t like the product/brand. Not worth selling “my soul” :)
Great topic! Sensitive yet worth discussing!
You too Nikki! I can’t believe this is something that’s happening everywhere! Actually I can, but darn! How did we ever allow this to happen? Or rather how on earth did brands or PR think they could pull a stunt like this? Like you, if I like something I purchased, I’d blog about it regardless. I’d never be able to “endorse” anything I didn’t like. Can you imagine what a sell out that’d be? i might waver if a million bucks was waved in front of my nose… like for celebrities ;)
Girl! Believe it! its happening worldwide! Ahhh million bucks? Hmm..can we share? I’ll get half of your million bucks and lets be a sellout together! Deal? LOL!!!
Hmm… yeah why not? The next time someone offers you a million bucks, cut me in on the deal and I’ll do likewise. Deal? ;) Seriously, its sad though to see what its become. Blogging used to be fun! :P I mean it still is, but now there’s so many of these things to spoil the fun.
DEAL!!! *lol*
I agree, I was just telling this to a friend of mine, well, we’ll talk more when we meet! I’d rather have you see my reactions and vice versa! :)
Yes yes… we have from dinner till morning! If we don’t all crash first LOL! :D Can’t wait :D
Yikes! X brand is totally dodgy!!!
Anyway, celebrity endorsements don’t generally work on me…any more!!! I used to be influenced by the hype.
Nowadays, bloggers do influence me…but I don’t think in an endorsing product kinda way. I like the genuine bloggers who are only giving their honest opinions – I suppose I have learnt to tell which are blogging “for real”…if that makes sense.
Bloggers are more enablers for me…I mean, before I started joining in the beauty blogging gang, I was not a lipstick lover…and now…I buy lipstick left, right and centre!! :P
Great topic of discussion and I’ll definitely be interested in the follow-up comments ;)
Sadly, Brand X isn’t dodgy at all. Its a brand I would be happy to work with. Perhaps their PR people just took the wrong and possibly fatal approach when it came to me :P
I know exactly what you mean about bloggers. I think of bloggers as enablers. I never know what I need till I read a blog about it LOL! Enablers, every single one, large or small!
Celebrities will get my interest to look at the products they’re endorsing and I will check out blogs and forums for reviews.
Anyway, the offer to you is not call an endorsement…it’s call sell-out! Geez…this brand is so cheapskate. I’ve had similar proposals before and at least the companies were decent to offer $. The offer was pretty good but I didn’t take it up cos first, I don’t believe in those brands, and second, I’ll just bore my readers with the same brand over and over even if it’s 3 times a week for a month. I wouldn’t risk losing my readership just for $.
Yeah…that brand is utterly cheap!
Nothing comes for free. What are they anyway to tell you to endorse them like that.
You said it! Freeloaders :P
You know what? I told the PR flat out that I might as well just shut down my blog if I took it up. I would never give up readership and the camaraderie I have here for $… well unless it was A LOT. I might just change my mind LOL! :D
For me, it depends on the person doing the endorsement. Bloggers definitely get more of my attention than celebrities but I’m also fussy about which bloggers I choose to trust. Even then, I’m still aware that my own personal experience/taste may differ from the next person.
And both X Brand and X Brand’s PR should be slammed for attempting something like that. :P
Perhaps Brand X and their PR thought it might take off? I’m not sure. But like you, all our personal preferences vary so while bloggers may enable me and create wants where I had none before, and while I may give more credence to what a blogger says, ultimately it comes down to me :)
Only if the blogger’s reviews have proven to be reliable, but of course I will only rush out and buy products that I was interested in….except for you PB – you got me ‘looking’ at things I don’t need!! Celebrity endorsements don’t convince me of anything.
Btw please remain Switzerland :). You are fine as you are. Cheers!
Yay Switzerland! Thank you Honey. I will try to remain as Swiss as possible :D
A blogger’s reputation is worth its weight in gold. Paris, your blog is nothing without your good reputation and integrity (and of course you know that!) – maybe it’s possible to put a price on that, but the losses will far outweigh gains, present or future.
You are absolutely right Jasmine. I’m now rethinking that million bucks :P
ooooohhh! I felt a wave of anger when I read this post – not directed at you obviously, but at the PR of X brand that behaves so presumptuously and with such an enormous degree of self-entitlement. Your blog is a personal one where you share your personal thoughts on products with us readers. Who are they to make demands on you???
I hear you that if they offer a substantial about for you to plug their product, then it might make at least some logical sense. Whether you accept that or not is of course then a personal choice. Just like how, we as readers, also have the choice whether to accept the view of bloggers. But to be so blatant and demanding ….. ooooohhh!!! *moment of rage*
Celebrity endorsements do squat in terms of persuading me to purchase a product. In fact, it has the opposite effect on me. If a product is as good as it claims, it speaks for itself and will not require millions spent on getting some celeb to put her name on it. This is why I would trust bloggers more – because a review by a blogger is (hopefully) the truth about her own experience with the product.
And readers are discerning as well. Brand X not only insults bloggers by making such demands as they did with you, but it also insults the intelligence of the readers.
End of rant!
Isabel! I actually could feel your anger too! Thank you and I do think the insult was as much directed as bloggers as they were their readers. I’d personally unsubscribe a blog that bombards me day after day with just news about Brand X to the exclusion of everything else. That’s just boring!
Wow… the nerve of Brand X! I’m completely fazed by their sheer audacity to such a suggestion! :O
Celebrity endorsements do nothing for me, and I’m picky about which blogger to trust. Those whom I do (like you), can do horrible things to my poor wallet :P
Hoho! You have done some enabling yourself missy! ;) Gotta salute their courage to pull this trick eh? :)
come to think of it, celebrity endorsement just dont do much for me.
if its a review on a blog site, then i may get influenced to buy. however, if there is an influx of posts of the same brand over and over, i would lose respect for the blogger and stop reading.
i know i have done that multiple times thus far. it easily gets old.
Yeah, I get turned off when I see many many posts on many many blogs of the same product or collection. I actually got turned off the latest Chanel collection because of this. Bombardment just isn’t the way to go with savvy blog readers and consumers is it? ;)
Nah celebrity endorsements have never worked on me. I’d buy a product if it works, not because Cate Blanchett says it’s good :P
As for blogger endorsements, I’d say it’s a grey area. If it’s from reputable bloggers, e.g. you or Sesame from Vivawoman, I might be inclined to think the product will work because I know you ladies won’t, to put it eloquently, “bluff my money” :P
LOL! I will most certainly try hard not to bluff your money :D And I know you do the same too, and a good job at it, so yeah. As Ling pointed out, bloggers are big enablers and influencers :D
i have a mixed feeling actually, but definitely wouldn’t trust the celeb-endorsement ad. already kena conned by SKII ads. jeez.
ever since after reading the blog yesterday, i really wonder about credibility of ‘bloggers’. LOL
LOL! Yes some bloggers take it to the other extreme sadly enough :P
i get influenced by both bloggers and celebrities, but i think i’m more affected by bloggers’ reviews rather than celebrity endorsements. however, the bloggers i’m influenced by are what i and most readers would deem credible, so as Tine say, bloggers like yourself. if i really like a particular celebrity and he/she is a brand spokesperson (the one that comes to mind is Alicia Keys and Proactiv) then i’d be more tempted to buy.
that aside, brand X needs to be ignored. hope your blood vessel mends soon ;)
Hehe… the blood vessel has mended. I was pissed earlier, but heck, getting angry just makes you old faster :P
Wow – those people at Brand X sure have the cajones asking you for all that with no mention of $. WTF. I wouldn’t have, but that’s just because I haven’t had something like this happen to me anyway.
As to your question: Don’t really care one way or another; but unless disclosed, it’s presumed that most bloggers have forked out their own money for whatever product they were testing out. But that’s just me. We don’t know for sure whether the celebs was already using the product before or after the endorsement deal comes in, so there’s that to think about.
Yes I make the same presumption you do when reading blogs. Unless disclosed otherwise, it was self purchased and usually the review will reflect it :) As for celeb endorsements, I’ve actually read about celebs who endorse a product but don’t touch it with a barge pole. When you read things like this, you really wonder at their and the brand’s integrity :P In my case, I told the brand “I might as well shut down my blog” and that I think sums it all LOL! :D
I think we all make sound judgements and we are not so naive to be swayed so easily by what one blogger blogs. Even though the post by a credible blogger may attract me to the item, I would still do my own research and read a bit more reviews on them before I make the decision to buy in.
Many a times, I realise that I get turned off if I were to read a blog that skewed heavily towards one brand and keeps raving about its goodness. Similar to what the brand is asking you to do, PB. And if I do read a bit more reviews and find that it contradicts, I might end up stop reading that particular blog too.
Yes, you are all intelligent people and not likely to be swayed that easily :) I haven’t really come across a blog that just raves about one brand but like you, I will get turned off when I read too many similar things around. Its one of the easiest way to lose visitors, as all of you have clearly mentioned! :D
hahaha what can i say? most of the beauty, wait, i think ALL of the beauty products i own are because of Paris and Connie, and some from Nikki (askmewhats) and bunbunmakeuptips. seriously. lets see, whats in my arsenal now compared to last time before my hormonal change (last time’s products were all used by u guys too)
1. facewash (aha! the only thing i own which i chose. Elianto rose facial foam).
2. Toner – Hada Labo
3. Moisturizer – Garnier Fructis, apparently ur “dupe but not dupe” for H20.
4. Sunblock – Clarins – Connie raved abt
5. Foundation – Skin79 Super Beblesh balm – Nikki.
6. Blush – Dior (need i say who)
7. Mascara – Anna Sui’s Volume up – bunbunmakeuptips.
8. Eyeliner – Kate – both Paris n bunbunmakeuptips.
9. Lipgloss – Clinique Chubby stick – Oops! from Soloverly. =P
10. Lipgloss – Chanel (the all black tube) from redlusciouslips.
11. Setting powder – Guerlain’s Meteroties (guess who?)
hahaha. proof enough? btw i only bought them AFTER i read the reviews, so no “Hey i have this too!” comments on the review. =D
Haha you m’dear are a prime candidate for blog influence! :D Although I see some really nice things you have picked out so you are nicely discerning and its great that they all work for you :D
If there are two similar products at same price I might buy the one endorsed by someone I like. But this is too vague, also most of the time I have no idea who is endorsing what!
Coming to blogger endorsement, I think reading good reviews on blogs or forums for that matter, does work in a products favour (more than celebrity endorsement). But then there are questions of skin type, budgets, availability, and personal choice.
And yes if you were to put Brand X’s name here I would not buy from them probably. :P
You’re right Nirah. It comes down to personal choice and what you can afford or if it even suits you. I think many people, you included, are now past the “OMG I gotta have it because X loves it” stage :D