Ginger + Liz send cease and desist notification: how to kill your brand
Lately there's been some rumbling in Beauty Bloggin paradise. More and more often companies do not agree with the content that has been posted on blogs and they start to prance around like a horse in heat. We've already seen a company that could not handle negative reviews (LimeCrime) and we've also experienced a brand that couldn't enjoy the free publicity that was being generated by an too early released press release.
This is not where the rumbling stops. Word on the street was that Diamond Cosmetics delivers to private labels. Diamond Cosmetics openly states they do this, I see no problems there.
But, let's say, you're a blogger. You don't want to palm off on your readers by recommending them an expensive version of a cheaper product. And this is where things can go wrong. Recently I politely declined the request of Elle.com to place an advertisement that included Priti Polish (another would-be private label of DC). It just wouldn't feel right. If I had any products of which I'd suspect that another brand's selling them for less money, I wouldn't hesitate to ask myself what's the deal.
This is exactly what Sara from Daily Polish did. Sara reviewed some products (she bought herself) by Ginger + Liz and she and her readers noticed these were similar to the ones by Diamond Cosmetics. When her readers requested some comparisons of the two brands, she went ahead and provided these.
A few posts later and Sara is being threatened with a $200.000 lawsuit. This kind notice was left through the attorney of Ginger + Liz. All posts and comments concerning this matter must be taken offline if she wants to stay out of trouble. Funnily enough Sara isn't the only one who ever questioned this en publique.
Of course it's common sense and decency to not totally destroy a company without grounded facts. There's a thin line between opinion and stating facts. But wondering things, since when is that not allowed?
And now what?
Is blogging as we know it indeed well and truly over? Is it asking for trouble when you're just voicing the ideas and opinions you have? Isn't this what blogging is about? An honest judgement coming from someone just like you? And what do actions like these say about a company?
The one thing I now know for sure, is that I've lost all interest in this brand. Whoops, are they going to sue me now?
- ETA: I've read some comments on another blog from Sara that could've been looked at as questionable, however, I still think the C&D is an overreaction.
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