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 😛 ) 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 😛 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
Jyoan says
I don’t quite believe both.
Celebrity is totally rubbish.
Bloggers are more reliable, BUT, still, reviews are the best! =DD