Tasha Ghouri, content creator and ex Love Islander has managed to encapsulate both the highs and lows of influencer marketing - all within a fortnight
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Tasha Ghouri, content creator and ex Love Islander has managed to encapsulate both the highs and lows of influencer marketing - all within a fortnight.
Ghouri was the first deaf contestant on TV reality show Love Island in 2022. The 25-year old spoke freely on the show about her cochlear implant and suffered from online trolls and ableism as a consequence.
Perhaps as a response to the online abuse it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that Ghouri uploaded her first TikTok speaking in her ‘deaf accent.’
“Let’s start normalising deaf accents” begins Ghouri in a ‘get ready with me’ edit continuing “I don’t know how loud I’m speaking or how clear I’m speaking. But, I thought …, let’s start normalising it”.
The reaction to her video has been very positive. Watched 3m times it’s generated a third of a million likes and over 1,000 comments which have ranged from support, to seeking more information about cochlear implants to simply asking what cosmetics she’s using. Raising awareness and fostering better understanding changes attitudes.
Effective influencer marketing is representative not only of advertisers but also the culture and values of the moment. If we misrepresent our audience, we risk alienating that audience.
That’s why the treating of all people with equity, without discrimination on the basis of gender, class, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability is enshrined within the Influencer Code of Conduct jointly owned by ISBA and IMTB.
Tasha Ghouri placed on ASA’s naughty step
On the flipside to Ghouri’s positive activism comes the news that this week the ASA placed her on its influencer naughty step - the sanction the ad regulator terms its 'Non-compliant social media influencers' webpage.
The page specifically names repeat offending influencers who break the rules around disclosing their ads. Those on the list either failed to provide the assurance that they would comply with the rules on the first instance, or subsequently reneged on it and are subject to a period of enhanced monitoring checks.
Hidden advertising by influencers is a major source of complaint to the ASA. This non-identified advertising erodes trust in influencer marketing with our audiences.
Research by the Advertising Association’s trust in advertising working group lists ‘suspicous advertising’ (which includes hidden advertising) as a major negative driver for trust in advertising.
DECLARATION: - I’m the director general of the Influencer Marketing Trade Body. The IMTB is a CAP member and part of the Trust in Advertising working group.
This story is an extract from this week's Creator Briefing newsletter. Sign up here to receive weekly updates on the creator economy.
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