5 of the worst influencer marketing fails of all time
By Candace Huntly
Influencer marketing can be incredible. For brands it has so many benefits like great content, increased brand awareness, reach into previously untapped markets, a sales bump, trackable marketing (gotta get that data!), plus… it can just be a lot of fun to see what content creators do with telling your brand story
.But what about those times where it goes kind of wrong? Let’s be honest, when you put your brand in the hands of someone else, it could happen. So there is always a certain amount of risk involved – but you could say that about any marketing strategy (anything in life, really…).
Sometimes sh*t happens and you need to learn from it so you don’t repeat mistakes of the past. And sometimes other people make mistakes for you so you can learn from what they did. When those opportunities present themselves, make sure you take them.
Here are 5 influencer marketing fails – and what you can learn from them.
DAN & PHIL X OREO
YEAR: 2014
What happened: YouTube duo Dan & Phil were hired by Mondelez to do some promotional content for Oreo. Dan & Phil posted an Oreo Lick Race challenge video to their page to see who could lick the middle off the Oreo first.
What went wrong: Sounds pretty innocent, right? Well, the duo didn’t disclose that it was sponsored content paid for by Mondelez (Oreo’s parent company). This goes against advertising standards, which state that influencers need to disclose when content is being paid for.
The fall out: Oreo ultimately didn’t agree with the ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority, but agreed to remove the video.
What you can learn: While you want to give your creators freedom, make sure you make your obligations and rules clear. Laying the groundwork in the beginning will ensure your content will stand the test of time.
SCOTT DISICK X BOOTEA
YEAR: 2016
What happened: Scott Disick of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” fame was hired by Bootea, a brand that sells fitness and detox products, to post to social media. Disick copy and pasted the entire message from the brand as his post caption – caption AND instructions. "Here you go, at 4pm est, write the below. Caption: Keeping up with the summer workout routine with my morning @booteauk protein shake!
"What went wrong: A serious case of the copy and pastes… with a side of staged and inauthentic marketing.
The fall out: Disick did eventually pick up on the error – not before he was roasted and the error was immortalized with screenshot and shared across social media. He updated the caption.
What you can learn: If an influencer you picked isn’t super into it or doesn’t seem to have real interest in the product, they may not be the best fit for you. Find someone to work with that reflects the brand – someone who would ACTUALLY use the product. If influencer marketing is too staged it doesn’t come across as genuine, which is the reason by influencer is so amazing in the first place!
NAOMI CAMPBELL X ADIDAS
YEAR: 2016
What happened: Naomi Campbell was hired to promote Adidas on social media. Like Disick and his Bootea mishap, Campbell copy and pasted both the suggested caption AND the instructions into her Instagram post. “Naomi, So nice to see you in good spirits!!! Could you put something like: Thanks to my friend @gary.aspden and all at adidas - loving these adidas 350 SPZL from the adidas Spezial range. 😘 😘💜✊ @adidasoriginals
”What went wrong: Another case of the copy and pastes.
The fall out: Campbell updated the first half of the caption and didn’t comment publicly.
What you can learn: Same advice as above with the Disick situation, but I’ll also add that another great way to avoid this is to give the influencers you work with the freedom to create content they believe in. Creating content is what they do best! And they know their audience really well.
PEPSI X KENDALL JENNER
YEAR: 2017
What happened: By now, I am sure you have heard about this Pepsi ad blunder. During the height of the Black Lives Matter movement (let’s be honest, this movement is continuous out of necessity), Pepsi hired Kendall Jenner to appear in an ad campaign. The ad showed Jenner leaving in the middle of a photoshoot to take part in the protest that was happening outside. When the police show up she hands one of them a Pepsi and appears to diffuse the situation.
What went wrong: There is a lot to unpack here, but one of the biggest issues is that having a white supermodel address the Black Lives Matter protests came across as insensitive at best. There was an uproar among audiences – some angered that Jenner was used to address this and some pointing out the absurdity of suggesting Pepsi would diffuse this situation given the violent protests that were going on in real life.
The fall out: Pepsi apologized and removed the advertisement. They also cancelled the rest of the ad roll out.
What you can learn: These types of mistakes will never actually go away because everything is forever marked on the internet. As a brand, when you take up a cause or try to insert yourself into a social movement narrative, it has to be genuine and well-though-out. You also need to ensure you choose the right influencer(s) to work with. The best place to start would be finding a content creator that is already vocal within the movement.
SARAH ELSHAMY X HUAWEI
Source: The Verge
YEAR: 2018
What happened: Actor Sarah Elshamy was hired by Huawei to promote their new Nova 3 smartphone. The actor posted some behind-the-scenes shots that showed the “selfie” shown was actually staged using a DSLR camera instead of the smartphone itself as the ad implied.
What went wrong: While the ad didn’t explicitly say that the selfie was taken with the Nova 3 phone camera, it was definitely implied. The fact that it wasn’t is misleading
The fall out: Elshamy took the photos down within 24 hours, but Huawei took time to respond to the mishap. They said that it’s not common for most brands to use professional equipment to shoot promotional material. It’s worth noting that they also have a disclaimer on all their content saying the images are for reference only. However, these types of “deceptions” can cause damage to brand reputation and should be avoided at all cost.
What you can learn: Transparency will always be your best friend when it comes to communicating with your customers – regardless of what channel you are using.
A quick online search and you’ll find many more influencer marketing fails, proving how important it is to do your research and set your influencer marketing campaign up properly. It’s also worth noting that things on the internet don’t disappear easily… Not sure where to start? Book a free 20-minute consultation and we’ll chat!