#ad
I honestly cringe everytime I come across a celebrity photo that has the most obvious form of product placement. I think it’s the most obvious form of selling out and taking full advantage of your fanbase and the number of followers you have gained. Being successful on social media doesn’t mean having to throw in a very transparent form of advertisement through a post every once in awhile, however celebrities often don’t even attempt at including a form of genuineness in these type of posts. Now, I’m not writing about the posts from celebrities and their own brands or movies that they’re part of, I think those social media posts possess more authenticity since the artist or celebrity has a clear attachment to the project they’re posting about. I’m thinking more of a post like this one:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSJXyFYld29/?taken-by=kimkardashian&hl=en
I don’t think an Instagram picture has ever been so transparent. The only thing that makes this post funny is her straight up acknowledgement of the product placement with the hashtag #ad in her caption. But I always wonder, how much is she getting paid and is it really an investment for the company? I honestly question if the company saw a spike in sales due to that one Instagram post. Don’t get me wrong, I actually like Kim Kardashian and think she has a unique style and awesome life, but posts like that one literally invite the haters to make fun of her even more. No one looks that good eating breakfast or have photoshoots during breakfast with the bag perfectly placed to be right in the center of the photo. And keep in mind this is not the first time that Kim Kardashian has very blantely posted a clear advertisement on her feed. I truly believe this fits the exact concept of selling out. She has created for herself a huge amount of followers and puts a lot of focus on her fashion sense, makeup looks and more but decides that posting a very obvious advertisement in the middle of her Instagram page makes her social media page very much less authentic.
On the other hand, she does use her social media account as a form of publicity for her husband, Kanye West’s fashion line. Many of the photos that she posts which include merchandise from his line often incorporate more authenticity using pictures of her children wearing his shoes and what not. What continues to bother me however is that there is no line between the posts that promote her husband’s fashion line and the posts that are clearly product placement. Many of her followers and fan can view photos of her yeezy publicity as a cute posts of a wife supporting her husband and fail to recognize the promotional aspect of the photos. This concept makes Kim Kardashian’s social media be viewed as a more authentic form of communication with her fans. Whereas when she partakes in the very transparent and obvious forms of publicity, she completely takes away from her efforts at displaying authenticity solely for making an extra buck. It is also shocking that Kim Kardashian, who has created a solid career for herself and has acquired a lot of wealth, lowers herself to these forms of social media advertising, making it all the more obvious that she has completely “sold out” to advertising through social media.
