Bloggers and #ad (Naming bloggers means a ban!)

SB_Part2 wrote: »

This thread has got incredibly bitchy again.

How?!?!?

anna080 wrote: »

I think you're missing my whole point. I'm not expecting bloggers to not get paid by brands, fire away, hell get paid by all the brands for all I care. Just disclose it to your readers that you're either being paid to promote or got a voucher/freebie. What's so hard about that?

I'm hoping it'so only a matter of time before practicable laws are established regarding this line of "work/business". Other professions and businesses are subject to comply with laws regarding earnings, audits where necessary,etc why shouldn't bloggers?

meeeeh wrote: »

Telling someone all they do is looking for a suggar daddy or something similar? I found it incredibly offensive but ignored it because it wasn't aimed at me. I certainly wouldn't want to have people who are saying things like that around me.

Anyway the complaints lately were about vouchers and vouchers are similar to free samples so do not need to be disclosed as ad. If we all just expect paid for content being discussed as advertising then I don't know what the complaining on the last four pages was about.

I don't think that that's what the comment was saying, but anyway one dud comment doesn't make it a bitchy thread.

One blogger has mentioned three times this week about wanting to go to Monart. I seen one blogger who went for free (fully disclosed it was free). Wonder how long it takes the other blogger to be offered a freebie!

I honestly find all this product placement and non-disclosing is having the opposite effect on me, and I would stay clear of all the products, hotels etc being promoted. They are tainted in my eyes. Probably silly of me, but had my eyes on some of the jewellery that featured heavily last week, and now I certainly will not be purchasing it! I just find it all really cringey at the moment, from free car rides across Europe, the savoy hotel being highlighted a few times, to wedding magazines showcasing the editors business at every opportunity. And then to get snapchatters coming on saying the only show products they truly believe in, and then spending the next 5 days showcasing 5 different pairs of freebie jeans.

Its all one big ugly ad. Can't wait till all the gift guide stuff is over!

anna080 wrote: »

Agreed. I can guarantee you I will never set foot inside Meagher's pharmacy.

Well, if you're excluding all brands who pay money to court influencers, then your list of allowed brands is really short – I presume you won't set foot in Penneys, Topshop, Arnotts, Brown Thomas, Oasis, Warehouse, Dunnes etc either? And that also means Asos, Boohoo, Pretty Little Thing and Missguided are out... I guess you must just make all your own clothes, and concoct beauty products from the contents of your kitchen? (But be careful there, too, because Lidl and Aldi have been known to work with influencers too...)

Question: if a brand paid to take out a two-page ad in The Irish Times Saturday magazine, would that make you think, gosh, I'll never set foot in that shop again? If not, why not? What's the difference?

Dolbert wrote: »

The same few posters with serious bees in their bonnets about bloggers, yet inexplicably still follow them.

Totally agree! Its constantly the same two or three posters giving out about bloggers, if its that much of a source of frustration that you constantly have to come on Boards, then maybe unfollow all those that are causing you such frustration on EVERY social media platform!!!

onthemitch wrote: »

Well, if you're excluding all brands who pay money to court influencers, then your list of allowed brands is really short – I presume you won't set foot in Penneys, Topshop, Arnotts, Brown Thomas, Oasis, Warehouse, Dunnes etc either? And that also means Asos, Boohoo, Pretty Little Thing and Missguided are out... I guess you must just make all your own clothes, and concoct beauty products from the contents of your kitchen? (But be careful there, too, because Lidl and Aldi have been known to work with influencers too...)

Question: if a brand paid to take out a two-page ad in The Irish Times Saturday magazine, would that make you think, gosh, I'll never set foot in that shop again? If not, why not? What's the difference?

I really don't understand why you have such a defensive tone. You'd swear I was referring to yourself personally, which I'm not.
To answer your question, I don't shop in missguided boohoo etc because I dislike the style of clothing. And penneys I'm not a huge fan of for ethical reasons. Tbh I'm not a huge shopper, but when I do I shop for clothes that I need, and not because some blogger happened to be flogging something from there.
Also, there's a huge difference in using affiliate links (which I don't really have a problem with) and the blatent over saturation of a certain pharmacy. The reason I wouldn't shop there is because it doesn't offer me anything that any other bog standard pharmacy couldn't give me, so I'd prefer to support another Irish business that doesn't court as much publicity and get as much hype, that answer your question?

Also, I notice you've only quoted me in your reply, and not the post above me which also stated the same thing. You seem hell bent of picking my posts apart. Odd.

anna080 wrote: »

I really don't understand why you have such a defensive tone. You'd swear I was referring to yourself personally, which I'm not.
To answer your question, I don't shop in missguided boohoo etc because I dislike the style of clothing. And penneys I'm not a huge fan of for ethical reasons. Tbh I'm not a huge shopper, but when I do I shop for clothes that I need, and not because some blogger happened to be flogging something from there.
Also, there's a huge difference in using affiliate links (which I don't really have a problem with) and the blatent over saturation of a certain pharmacy. The reason I wouldn't shop there is because it doesn't offer me anything that any other bog standard pharmacy couldn't give me, so I'd prefer to support another Irish business that doesn't court as much publicity and get as much hype, that answer your question?

Also, I notice you've only quoted me in your reply, and not the post above me which also stated the same thing. You seem hell bent of picking my posts apart. Odd.

It was easier to quote yours because you made one point – I wasn't going to get into the other points that heyjude meant as one particular person referred to is a friend of mine, so it felt like any response from me would be biased!

But hang on now: a second ago you basically said that you would never set foot in Meaghers SPECIFICALLY because of how it courts bloggers.

But you're saying you don't shop in Penneys for ethical reasons, or on Missguided / Boohoo because you don't like their clothes. Why isn't their courting of bloggers also problematic to you? They all send free items to bloggers, take them to events, spend money bringing them away for weekends or to lunches and dinners...

Don't you see how you're contradicting yourself? Either you're so incredibly principled about how brands are going OTT with bloggers, and that puts you off those brands, OR that's not really your issue.

I just think that a lot of issues people (not just you) have with bloggers come down to the fact that they're p*ssed off that these people they don't like all that much are getting loads of free things. "Why should I be paying for this when she gets it for free?"

You can all go on and on about transparency, but even when bloggers ARE transparent and say things are free, or sponsored, you then state that "well that's put me right off that brand". So the blogger can't win – you're never happy, no matter what a blogger does.

One of your earlier points was about Penneys, "it's one big ad" and Kildare Village, "shouldn't that be marked ad". My whole point – and the thing we keep going round and round in circles about – is that, according to the ASAI's guidelines, there is no need to mark something as #ad if the blogger isn't being paid money to promote it. End of.

anna080 wrote: »

Take your own advice so and unfollow the thread.

I've deleted snapchat and instagram as so many bloggers were grating on me with their BS so yes Anna, I have followed my own advice!!

SB_Part2 wrote: »

So some of the 4 bloggers you follow were at Kildare Village. Why are you still following them then if you believe Kildare Village paid them or they didn't declare #ad for something you deem to be one?

Because I like them? Seriously what aren't you getting here?

SB_Part2 wrote: »

Because you are completely contradicting yourself.

How??

anna080 wrote: »

No. I will never set foot in there because they can't offer me anything any other less publicised pharmacy can't offer me, seriously I've just stated this a few posts ago did you even read it?

Yes, I read it – but honestly? It read like an excuse you were making because you realised your first point didn't make any sense. (When, in responding to heyjude, you were all, YOU GO GIRL I'M NEVER SHOPPING IN MEAGHER'S COS THEY WORK WITH THOSE BLOGGERS I LOVE/HATE!)

Anyway, this has taken up way too much of my time, and yours – imagine the books we could've been reading!

The take-home points for me?

You think something is an ad when it's not an ad, and will never accept that you are wrong. And bloggers should be DAMN GRATEFUL that people are reading their blogs or following them on social media, and should hashtag #ad on every single thing they ever do. And if that ever happens, you'll probably give out that "it's all just one big ad these days", later on in this very thread.

I can't wait!