I don’t make a habit of addressing articles in which I’ve been quoted, but I’m making an exception here. There is a story on the front page of Sunday’s Los Angeles Times – Blogging moms wooed by food firms – and I’ve allowed Ray to post his thoughts. Please weigh in and let us know what you think!
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Do you think Tiger Woods’ endorsement of Nike or Buick diminishes his name or their brands because he’s paid millions of dollars to pitch them?
Is Kelly Ripa less credible on Live because she’s paid to promote Electrolux? Does that make Regis a better person?
Of course the answer is “No.” But oddly, when it comes to mommy bloggers offering a positive comment about a product after they’ve had a chance to visit a brand’s operation in Los Angeles or New York, some cry foul. They say moms have been compromised and aren’t to be believed.
But the truth is just the opposite.
Take my wife for example.
Christine will only talk about products, brands or services that she enjoys and trusts personally. If she doesn’t like it or if it fails in some way, she won’t talk about it. In fact, she has put together boxes of products to donate to Goodwill after deciding not to endorse them for one reason or another. You’ve never heard anything about these products from her. That’s because she’s decided not to brand bash – this site is all about our family and what we like and enjoy, not what sucks. For that, she gets criticized by some.
Most mommy bloggers do not get paid to post their opinions on products (and my wife is no exception), however consider this – Wisk laundry detergent recently invited Christine, all expenses paid, to New York City for a couple of days so she could learn about their product. How fun would that have been? But since
she’s sold on Tide (no offense to Wisk, which I’m sure has a good product) and she uses it on the bazillion loads of laundry our family churns out each week, she turned Wisk down. And this is only one such example.
Why is it that there seems to be one standard for mom bloggers and another for celebrities who endorse products? In my way of thinking, the mom’s are, if anything, more credible than the celebrities. Does Tiger really drive a Buick? Does Kelly Ripa really cook her own meals?
Does Oprah really love Butt Paste?
I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I do know that real moms with real families blog and talk about the products they use and love.
One other thing to consider, just as celebrities wouldn’t associate their name with something dubious, neither would most mom bloggers. I know Christine certainly wouldn’t.
On a related note, I do have to say that sometimes I wish she would rip on some products that deserve to be criticized heavily… Think water bottle you’d take to drink at the gym and change nothing. Now give to the kid in the back seat, because you don’t want to stop to let him go to the bathroom. Do you think at some point that someone might get a mouthful of something unpleasant?
