Faves Asia apologises for "unintended misrepresenting" of influencers

A promotional video by social media influencer community Faves Asia has been met with varying levels of backlash, from netizens, media websites and the influencer community. The video was called out for misrepresenting the influencer community and industry, and also for being poorly executed.Since then the video has been pulled down, confirmed a spokesperson from Faves Asia  to Marketing. This was because the company did not want to continue giving the wrong impression in the eyes of the public. He said:It was never our intention for the video to paint an inaccurate representation of the industry."While we admit the team did attempt to exaggerate the storyline to make it more humorous, we would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any unintended misrepresentation," the spokesperson added.Faves Asia explained that the video was a "pet project" created by the team alongside contributors including friends at talents in the community."We noticed that some people viewed the video differently from what we originally intended, and they took the exaggerated content as something serious. In the process there was a misunderstanding of the exact image FavesAsia was trying to portray," the spokesperson added.When asked if there were any future marketing plans, Faves Asia said that there were no plans as of the moment for marketing videos, but added it might post more videos to promote its community for future campaigns or opportunities.The spokesperson added that the company would like to also defend the micro-influencer community."Micro-influencers are not 'wannabes', they are sincere people who want to grow. Today, acting and singing are two huge dreams that are out of reach for many people. Gaining popularity on Instagram is something within reach, and is a smaller success that we can work hard towards," the spokesperson said, adding:"We should not put down the hopes of our friends who wants to grow and shine on Instagram. FavesAsia provides the platform for Instagram users who wish to pursue such opportunities."In case you missed out on what the video was about, we got you covered.The controversial video featured a young girl called Hilda having a discussion with her friend over her envy of a social media influencer’s following and brand sponsorships. The discussion transcends into a plug for Faves Asia as the friend in the conversation starts to describe what the community is about and what it can do for those looking to become an influencer.What ensues is young Hilda seeing success after joining the platform. After two months, Hilda is implied to be enjoying benefits of being an influencer, from food tasting, manicure sessions and attending events. After six months, she is seen as a passenger in a sports car, being greeted by adoring fans due to her new found fame.According to Faves Asia, the content in the video was entirely scripted. It is not representative of who the talents involved are in real life."Everyone was just acting out their role, none of them are materialistic in real life," Faves Asia explained. Local influencer Nellie Lim also voiced out her displeasure at the organisers for misrepresenting the industry and giving it “bad rep” to brands, clients, agencies, the media and masses. Here’s what she said.Similarly, it was mocked by YouTube personality Jonathan Cheok, who reposted the video on his Facebook page.