Dispatches C4 - Celebs, Social Media & Equestrianism

[chris_j]

Just watched the channel 4 dispatches program on celeb endorsements on social media & how it should be declared openly when a celeb is promoting a product and being paid for it - even if the payment is free product rather than hard cash.

As horse people & social media users how do you feel about it?

Do you assume a rider is being sponsored/paid when they tweet about a certain sort of saddle, feed etc?

Do you think it should be made obvious e.g. with a hashtag ad ?

Do you assume it's blimmin obvious anyway?

Do you care either way?

 

[MrsMozart]

I always think they're getting paid for it, but trust (hope?) that it's something they believe in and works - otherwise it shouldn't be anywhere near their horses anyway.

 

[YorksG]

I always assume they are doing it for the dosh and don't think that they even use what they endorse!

 

[Dunlin]

If you pick up any "celeb" magazine I am sure you will see "spotted" photo's of Davina McCall entering and leaving a top London salon. But.... doesn't she use Garnier Nutrisse hair dye, specifically in Chocolate Brown? No, of course she doesn't!

The only celeb endorsements I go for, specifically in the equestrian world are ones who do actually use their products and it's obvious to see they like them and are not just using them for the sake of sponsorship or advertising. Like if Andrew Nicholson endorses a certain brand of sticky bum breeches but he actually rides in them. Well, they're already sold to me!

 

[tallyho!]

Why is it so important to know what a horsey celeb likes or dislikes? Whether they are paid or not?

Just because the whitakers use sheep, doesn't mean we all have to. Just because Laura bech uses a massage pad, doesn't mean I instantly have to remortgage to buy one. So what if Carl Hester uses PE boots... I rather like other ones.

Can't anyone think for themselves anymore? Or do we all live our lives based on how many likes and retweets someone gets...

 

[fburton]

Tallyho!, voice of sanity.

 

[Dunlin]

Why is it so important to know what a horsey celeb likes or dislikes? Whether they are paid or not?

Just because the whitakers use sheep, doesn't mean we all have to. Just because Laura bech uses a massage pad, doesn't mean I instantly have to remortgage to buy one. So what if Carl Hester uses PE boots... I rather like other ones.

Can't anyone think for themselves anymore? Or do we all live our lives based on how many likes and retweets someone gets...

That's a bit unfair, I don't even have a Twitter/Facebook/Youtube account I was making a point about buying something on recommendation. If I want some new yard boots I'll ask the other girls what they are wearing and then go and look at some if they sound good. If I happen to watch "Team Fredericks" on H&C and see that Lucinda wears "so and so" muckers and says they're bloomin' amazing then I might think oh, I'll have a look at those too.

Far too many people are label/celeb oriented and live their lives like controlled robots. There's a lady at work who I absolutely LOVE (no, not in THAT way). It's because 4 times a year she brings her entire wardrobe in and gives it to me because she has a stack of magazines that are "telling her" what to wear for the new season and therefore she has to throw out all her old stuff because she "can't" wear it anymore. Poor girl needs help and a debt management company.

I really don't give a flying frog about product placement, I don't even know what a hash tag is, sounds like an unpleasant potato snack.

 

[Honey08]

Take 90% of what Dispatches reports as hyped up twaddle. Its not much better than Jeremy Vine or the Daily Wail! I have seen two programmes that I knew a lot about the subject being reported, and the way they reported it was sensationalised rubbish.

 

[tallyho!]

Dublin, if my comments were aimed specifically towards you then, yes - unfair. By they weren't, it was aimed in the general direction of the thread which is about social sites.

Personally, I value the social networking sites but worry the impact they have on young or impressionable people, a bit like your friend Dublin. Why does anyone need me clobber each season? I have a box with which I swap summer/winter clothes in my wardrobe and most if them are years old.... Yes, I am aware I am not the image of fashion but I would rather recycle my clothes than fund slave labour in India. That's a choice I make but still, Facebook is good for business! If celeb endorsements boost sales of fruity shampoo, then that's progress. I don't have to buy into it.

It says something about the world we live in that here is more fruit in a rich woman's shampoo than there is on a poor woman's plate.

It's a paradox that here we have the universe at our fingertips yet still need to follow a herd leader when it comes to making choices about breeches. It's just a pair of breeches!

By the way, i am FAR from sane! I decided to visit insane one day and liked it there