Do you see it? The word FLU is right there in the name: InFLUencers.
Influencers are the Barons of those fads and trends we love so much. The ones we look back on with equal parts fondness and embarrassment.
Your mind is probably flipping through its mental rolodex, thinking of the Kardashian’s hocking their wares. But brand ambassadors and sponsorships have been around for a long time. It’s just a part of doing business.
I noticed it, but never understood the absurdity, until rewatching Wayne’s World.
Product Placement
When pressured to create a segment for Noah Vanderhoff, owner of Noah’s Arcade, their primary sponsor, Wayne and Garth push back as only they can.
“It’s like people only do things because they get paid.” Garth said, regaled in full Reebok apparel, “And that’s just really sad.”
Garth is right, it is sad. But since they pointed this out in Waynes World, the influencer economy has only grown. Sliding products and brands into every nook and cranny of the media market.
While Wayne and Garth mocked the idea of product placement, they highlighted a crucial truth: attempting to manufacture authentic connection often achieves the opposite effect.
When filmmaker David Lynch was asked how he feels about the growing trend of product placement in the movies, he said, “Bullshit. That’s how I feel. Total. Fucking. Bullshit.” Most audiences feel the same way.
Instead of product placement, you can recruit a likeable, gregarious, pitch person to sway your audience. An InFLUencer. And they can spread the idea like a virus. They sneeze the product all over their constituents.
In marketing, a “Sneezer” is someone who spreads ideas, attempting to infect others. Think of that CrossFit buddy, or the coworker selling Herbalife, and then scale it up with the internet. Sneezers are infected with an idea, a product, or a lifestyle, and they feel compelled to spread it, ready or not.
The Rise of Celebrity Endorsements
Suzanne Somers spread that ThighMaster contagion far and wide. The product had been around for 20 years in various sizes and colors, but it was Somers who sneezed the obscure device into popular culture.
Somers said to “squeeze, squeeze, squeeze your way to shapely hips and thighs.” And America listened.
The ThighMaster—a simple V-shaped fitness device made of metal tubes connected with a spring-loaded hinge started out as the “V-Bar” and then the “V-Toner.” It was invented in the 1960s by Anne-Marie Bennstrom, a Swedish physical medicine student looking for a way to help skiers strengthen their muscles after injury.
Two decades later, she was approached about creating a home version of the exercise equipment for the public. “I always knew it would sell… because it works,” Bennstrom said. But in the deluge of fitness devices and equipment on the market, works was not enough.
The infomercials featuring Somers really worked. To the tune of ten million units sold, and counting. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Threes Company star who oozed that “California Girl” persona was able to move the product. People liked her, the product was affordable, and if you didn’t let it gather dust in the basement, it made an impact. No more thunder thighs.
But in many circles, the term Influencer has negative connotations, because they have about as much tact as Wayne and Garth.
The Age of Influencer Empires
Mr. Beast (Jimmy Donaldson) will sneeze his chocolate bars all over you. And for him, it’s worth it. Because Sneezing has evolved over the past forty years. We’ve moved from celebrity endorsements, celebrities being paid to promote products, to equity stakes like Michael Jordan, getting a percentage of sales, to this latest version of Sneezer, products that are wholly owned by the Sneezer themself.
The Paul brothers, Jake and Logan, will (literally) spritz you down with their latest offering. And when the product is your own creation rather than just an endorsement deal, the Sneezing never stops—it becomes part of your identity, your brand, your empire.
Don’t believe me? After Jake “boxed” Mike Tyson, after he went eight rounds and collected on a 40-million-dollar payday, he couldn’t help but spray his W products all around the ring. He was next to a trained killer (Iron Mike) who had swallowed his pride to collect a few million of his own, and Paul’s first impulse was not gratitude, it was gratuity.
40 million was not enough. He is a Sneezer. Infected, and unable to control his urge to spread the virus.
The fact that W’s products are free of harsh sulfates, phthalates, parabens, and chemical colors and that they are formulated with patent-pending mood-enhancing scents and nutrient-rich components like vitamin B, magnesium, vitamin E, and biotin to nourish skin and hair changes nothing!!!
Excuse me, I think I’m coming down with something. This strain of inFLUence is particularly aggressive—it’s mutated from subtle product placement to relentless sneezing.
Gesundheit!
Can We Avoid InFLUence?
Like any virus, you’ll want to avoid these Sneezers, but that can be a challenge. The next best thing is to keep a strong and healthy immune system, become less susceptible to these viral ideas, which means awareness and critical thinking.
In other words, it’s hard.
As these InFLUencers have evolved from simple product placement to full-blown influencer empires, the viruses have only become more contagious.
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