I have no problem with bloggers and influencers been gifted items. I know how bloody hard they work and they deserve every freebie they receive. What I do have a problem with is brands who push staged, planted and inauthentic campaigns.
I hadn’t planned on writing yet another post about the Dior Saddle bag (catch my first post about it HERE) but I wanted to address the controversy surrounding it. As a luxury fashion lover and shopper I finally felt compelled to add my two cents.
The Saddle bag officially launched on Thursday 19th July amongst a wave of blogger controversy. All day Instagram feeds were awash with images of high profile influencers touting their saddle bag and declaring their love for them. It didn’t take a lot of detective work to realise Dior had manufactured an undeclared social media campaign.
It turns out Dior had gifted a bag to 100 influencers with the caveat they were “planning a huge digital moment on 19th July” and requested each influencer post images of their bag on launch day. The problem came when only a small handful of bloggers declared the bag as gifted and only one blogger (Veronica Ferraro) labelled it as an ad.
I have no problem with bloggers and influencers been gifted items. I know how bloody hard they work and they deserve every freebie they receive. What I do have a problem with is brands who push staged, planted and inauthentic campaigns. My issue is Dior tried to manufacture the Saddle as this year’s “it” bag via simulated means and ultimately, their end goal was to showcase how in-demand this bag is. However, in reality it was all staged and faked.
I’m not naive, I understand how advertising works and that we’re all susceptible to a good marketing campaign. However, when doing an influencer campaign, I strongly believe authenticity is key. There is and always should be a distinct difference between an influencer and a model. In this case, Dior took advantage of the trust consumers put in these individuals and tried to use it to their advantage.
A blogger absolutely has a responsibility to keep tabs on the campaigns they accept and declare them responsibly. However, brands the size of Dior shouldn’t be pushing these sorts of campaigns in the first place. If I was Dior, I’d have gifted the bag without any strings attached. This way, if the influencer uses the bag, it is natural and genuine.
When it came to the Saddle bag I never advised buying one from the new collection. If you caught my first post about the return of this bag (read it HERE) you’ll know I recommended buying a vintage one from the 1990s rather than splashing out on a new one. I would still advise doing this if you can find an inexpensive one for £200-£300.
FYI my pink one is vintage and I purchased a new strap from Dior so I could wear it cross body.
As a result of this campaign, I would now also strongly advise exercising caution when getting absorbed in any hype around around Dior products because chances are it’s all manufactured! Just make sure you buy something for the right reasons, e.g. because you love it rather than because it’s a “hot” item.
Don’t forget you can also keep up with me on Instagram @thatnewdress, Twitter @thatnewdress, Bloglovin That New Dress, Snapchat thatnewdress and Depop @dominiquew.
I heard about Dior doing this! If I’m gifted an item, I will only post if I want to post it. That way brands aren’t trying to make me post something I don’t like!
Jennifer
Effortlessly Sophisticated
This whole campaign sounds like absolute chaos and so fake – it’s awful! Great bag though and you styled it beautifully as usual!
Heather xoxo
https://www.hefafa.me.uk
Aww, ho cute and pretty does that Dior saddle looks!!!! I love how you have styled it with those earrings and matched the color with those heels!
Xoxo Babita
http://travelhues.com
I personally feel like the vintage saddle bags are more attention drawing than the newer designs! I also agree with this article, designer powerhouses make too much money from us(the buyers) to stoop to this level of marketing! x
Diana | http://www.cettedame.com
Oh I really liked reading your honest thoughts about this whole controversy. I absolutely agree with you, Instagram has become such an inauthentic platform. Dior should have either chosen to make it an official campaign – it is obvious that some bloggers only post a pictures when they are paid so that’s okay – or just gift the bags to them and see how they would naturally style it and posting pictures.
Said that, I have to say that I LOVE your vintage version dear, such a little cutie!
xx, Carmen – https://carmitive.com
Ooh a really great post, and something that I actually didn’t know. I think it’s so easy to get lost in the hype from influencers and youtubers, it can be difficult to know what’s really real anymore. I think your suggestion of gifting no strings attached would have restored the authenticity of this campaign.
//teandtwosugars.blogspot.com xx
Awesome outfit!
Have a nice evening!
Gil Zetbase
beautiful look, love saddle bag
new outfit Pineapple fashion trend
have a nice day
this was an interesting post to read! I did notice that they were popping up all over the place and I figured it was advertisement even though it wasn’t stated. It does’t take away from their beauty though, because of it I started carring my Vuitton croissant bag, hoping that one will come back too! hahah
http://www.prettyinleather.net
Perfect style, I love your bag.
https://nairgraphies.com/blog/
Such a great post dear and I also followed the buzz around the Dior saddle!
And I must say, the campaign definitely worked for me as I immeditaley got that feeling that “I need one – NOW”, too 😉 *lol
So I also don’t like that Dior pushed the bloggers/ influencers and also, that most of them didn’t label the post as an advertisement – how it should be .
So anyways – I love your vintage oen ! ANd would also never pay 1500 or more to get one from the new collection… I now invested in a Vintage Fendi and cant wait for it to arrive 😉
Happy weekend ♥
xxx
Tina
https://styleappetite.com
you look gorgeous!! i love your bag
Lesley Kim
Such a lovely outfit:-)You look gorgeous:-)
http://www.lostindaydreams.com/
What a sweet look, These are super cute & cool pictures, xx
Fredericks of Hollywood Coupons
i absolutely love this post and definitely agree with you on it!
kisses from dubai
http://www.mahryska.com
Lovely bag. I’m really glad it’s back. Also, such an adorable dress too dear. The belt is such a chic detail.
Jessica | notjessfashion.com
That bag looks so retro, yet with that modernized touch that gives it a new soul! So beautiful 😀
With love and light,
Patricia & Miguel
http://www.freeoversea.com
I think it’s a beautiful bag, but Dior really messed up the whole thing and now people can’t even look at the bags anymore. Objectively, they’re stunning, but seeing so many people wearing them just makes me not want to buy them. It was a very stupid move, to be honest!
http://www.lambassadrice.com/
This is such a fascinating post Dominique. I so appreciate your commitment to transparency. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth to think some bloggers don’t disclose products that they receive complimentary.
x,
S | Je M’appelle Chanel
Great post! It’s a really nice bag but what Dior did I guess it’s illegal in some countries – for example Germany where every product no matter if gifted or bought on your own, as long as if you can see a brand name or logo on a photo/post it has to be tagged as a brand – from what I heard from German bloggers. I’m so sorry that you had to deal with lots of shit due to the whole campaign but I hope that it’ll learn some brands and agencies in future to be true with consumers.
Thanks for your honesty. I hadn’t know mush about it.
https://henatayeb.blogspot.com
Yea I heard about the controversy! Its still a gorgeous bag though. At the end of the day, if it was a horrible bag, it still wouldn’t sell no matter how much they push it!
-DIdier
http://www.didieryhc.com
I hadn’t even heard about this bag until you mentioned it. I agree that Dior shouldn’t have pushed this kind of undisclosed campaign and that gifting it to bloggers would have been the best choice. People value authenticity and honesty very much and it’s a hard thing to get back once broken. But that’s great that you found a vintage one! It gives it more character and makes it more unique.
x Kara | http://karascloset.net/
Thanks for sharing the saddle bag gifting story, that is outrageous and hilarious at the same time. I like the reissue saddle bag with a wide studded strap but I also like your pink vintage with the new strap. I like getting new straps too for my older bags, I just got my new Fendi ‘strap you’, hopefully, it will match nicely with my Lady Dior. Love your all black mini dress, you look awesome.
http://www.busyandfab.com
OMG so chic bag.
kisses
Maggie Dallospedale
Indiansavage.com
This was a really thoughtful post and I have to agree with you on all points. The push by Dior really wasn’t handled well and the end result was a rather off-putting unofficial campaign. That said, I adore the bag and am head over heels in love with yours!
Great look!
http://www.iameleine.com/
Your vintage bag is so cute! I don’t follow many big bloggers because of the reasons you stated – the smaller bloggers are much more honest and authentic with how they got things. It’s the law here you need to declare when things are sponsored or part of an advertisement, so it’s sad when people don’t think things like that are important to share!
I hope that your week has been going well so far 🙂
Away From The Blue Blog
I didn’t even hear about this one. I think bloggers and the brand itself should be responsible in managing campaigns. The bag looks good though.
Joy to the World
Wow! Never heard about this, but definitely appreciate you for posting about it. Definitely great advice to be cautious when choosing campaigns. That’s awful that they would do something like that just to get sales. And if I’m being honest, the bag isn’t really that cute to me. Love your look though babe.
Totally agree with you darling, I never get sucked into this kind of things. Only purchase something I truly like and want and not because its the “it” thing!
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
Kudos to everyone who declared they received the bag for free. Blogging is awesome. But having integrity is more awesome. Thanks for highlighting and addressing this issue from your perspective too.
xo Leros | AboutEos
I agree with you about the vintage saddle bags. I was so obsessed with them growing up and how they were influenced by Argentinian cowboys saddle bags. I remember Giselle in the campaign as well before she was Mrs. Tom Brady, lol.
LaToya
http://www.toyastales.blogspot.com
Absolutely agree about buy what you love Great outfit and you styled the Dior saddle bag so well babe xoxo Cris
https://photosbycris.blogspot.com/2018/08/my-life-my-style-my-adventure.html
I wasn’t aware of this campaign that dior had, maybe because lately I was a bitt absent form the blogger world or maybe because I don’t follow bloggers that have wrote about it but I have to say that I agree with you, I have always hated the miscivious publicity. Anyways you came up with a great idea for all those who would love to try a similar product.
Regards,
Flo
Totally agree it’s chaos, such a shame because it’s a great bag xx
Thank you so much lovely xx
Totally agree with you! xx
I don’t know why brands make it so complicated. These bags cost nothing to Dior so why do they have over complicate it and make it so inauthentic?! xx
Totally agree doll xx
Thank you so much hun xx
Thank you sweetie xx
I love that 90s bag are coming back we can recycle them! Can’t wait to see how you style your croissant bag xx
Thank you so much lovely xx
I so want a vintage Fendi, I’m on the hunt for the perfect one. Can’t wait to see yours xx
Thank you so much sweets xx
Thanks doll xx
Thank you so much lovely xx
Thank you Mahryska xx
Thank you so much doll xx
I love being able to recycle my old bags and that they’re going back xx
They definitely messed up on the campaign but as you said the bags are still stunning xx
I think transparency is the most important thing when you have ab log. We owe it to readers and the brands to be open xx
That’s really interesting about Germany, I did not know about the legal requirements xx
Glad you enjoyed the post hun xx
You’re so right! I just think it’s important to keep campaigns genuine xx
Here here, I can’t agree with you more hun! You put it so well xx
Ooo I cant’t wait to see your Fendi strap! I bet it’s gorgeous, I’m in love with Fendi at the moment xx
Thank you so much hun xx
I adore the bag but the campaign has definitely left a sour taste in my mouth which is such a shame xx
Thank you xx
Totally agree a lot of the bigger bloggers have lost sight of being honest and transparent. If you accept something on the proviso you’ll post about it, it should be definitely declared xx
Absolutely! I agree you hun xx
Thank you so much lovely! I love this bag, it’s just shame about the undisclosed campaign xx
For sure, it has to be a purchase because you absolutely LOVE it! xx
Totally agree! It’s a shame that only 1 blogger disclosed the campaign xx
Haha it’s amazing how fashion comes back around, right?! xx
Thank you so much lovely xx
You and I definitely feel the same about this for sure xx
I’m totally the same as you! If you love something you’ll share it naturally xx