Celebrity Overpromotion: It's Time for the Public to Show Their Power

It's time for the public to show their role and responsibility by saying no to celebrities who take advantage of their reputation to exaggerate and hype products.

Miss Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien (middle) with Hang Du Muc and Quang Linh Vlogs (far right) are advertising vegetable candy - Photo: Cer Group

The story of some celebrities and TikTokers over-promoting the benefits of vegetable candy is attracting public attention.

Reader Tran Xuan Tien sent Tuoi Tre Online an article providing additional perspectives on this incident.

Why do people believe in celebrities?

As early as the middle of the last century, from empirical studies, Paul Lazarsfeld and his colleagues proposed the theory of two-step communication.

This theory suggests that the majority of the public forms their opinions through the influence of opinion leaders - people who are well-informed, have expertise, prestige, and power to influence the opinions of others.

These people receive information from the mass media and convey that information based on their views to the wider public.

Nowadays, in the context of the development of a series of social networking platforms, this theory is further proven through communication practice.

Brands and labels are looking to reach customers through collaboration with influencers.

Famous people, besides their professional products (such as music, movies, fashion, books, etc.), all want to take advantage of their "popularity" to receive contracts to represent brands or advertise products for brands.

To convert the public (fans) into customers, many celebrities do not hesitate to share that they have directly used the product, or are the manufacturer or co-manufacturer of the product they are advertising.

With existing affection, many people easily believe in the "confidential sharing" of celebrities, and believe that "they will not sell their reputation" in exchange for immediate benefits.

Chorus of apologies after over-the-top advertising

However, not all celebrities are responsible for their words and actions when advertising products for sale.

In the past few days, when criticized by public opinion for exaggerating the effects of Kera vegetable candy products, Quang Linh Vlogs posted an apology "for conveying inaccurate information, causing misunderstandings to customers".

Notably, this is not the first time this character has apologized for the quality of the products he advertises. In early January 2025, Quang Linh Vlogs apologized when his claypot rice restaurant did not provide good service, causing a TikToker to have an unpleasant experience when coming to the restaurant.

At the end of November 2024, Quang Linh Vlogs apologized for the poor quality of the LN smoked ribs he advertised and asked the brand to refund 100% of orders purchased on livestream.

Also in early November 2024, Quang Linh Vlogs also apologized for the poor packaging quality of the red apple burger produced by the company.

Thus, in just about 3 months, Quang Linh Vlogs has apologized 4 times due to shortcomings in the process of doing business and advertising its products.

It seems that celebrity endorsements of products on social media platforms are becoming more and more common.

This action not only damages personal reputation but also harms consumers and society.

And equally common is the over-promotion, then apology, and then everything goes back to normal.

Previously, a series of celebrities had to apologize after being condemned by the community for advertising exaggerated effects of certain types of milk, functional foods, etc.

But why isn't this over yet?

The public must be responsible

To a certain extent, the fact that celebrities carelessly advertise products excessively, and then after receiving public backlash, simply apologize to get things over with, may be partly due to the public still being lenient in their behavior towards celebrities.

Obviously, in addition to supplementing and increasing sanctions to ensure deterrence from relevant management agencies (increasing fines, revoking licenses, collecting income from illegal advertising, banning activities in the advertising field, professional activities, restricting performances, banning broadcasting...), the "power" of the public is very much needed.

The public can absolutely "say no" to celebrities who take advantage of fans' trust to advertise excessively in order to sell more products.

By firmly rejecting celebrities who make statements and behave in an unethical or illegal manner, the public is demonstrating their role and responsibility in accordance with their own legitimate interests and those of the community, contributing to building a civilized life that respects the rule of law.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vu-nhung-nguoi-noi-tieng-quang-cao-qua-lo-da-den-luc-cong-chung-the-hien-quyen-luc-20250310101141016.htm