Businesses Offer Latvian Celebrities Plastic Surgery, Condoms and Pieces of Meat—or Why the “Stars” Refuse to Work with Businesses

Last week, a round-table discussion featuring the most influential stars and bloggers took place at the five-star Pullman Riga Old Town hotel. Participants included popular YouTuber Stas Davydov, singer Aminata, actress Vita Baļčunaite, fashion blogger Agnija Grigule, presenter Jeļena Tonova, communications specialist Svetlana Ļev, editors of popular websites and magazines Jevģēnija Šafraneka (brunch.lv) and Inna Avina (Люблю), and businessman and vivid personality Vlad Koryagin. The discussion between businesses and celebrities took place as part of the influencer marketing conference Click&Connect.

Each of the bloggers and celebrities noted that they work only with brands they like. In addition, such work must be well paid—this is how it works all over the world. Latvian celebrities, however, often have to hear barter offers, some of them rather amusing.

“Recently, I was offered plastic surgery in exchange for advertising on Instagram. Of course, I refused because it is not relevant to me,” Aminata says. The singer says that she works with brands that correspond to her lifestyle, such as Nike, Coca-Cola and others.

Fashion blogger Agnija Grigule, meanwhile, admitted that she had been offered the opportunity to advertise condoms under barter terms.

“They wanted to give me an entire box of condoms! We all know perfectly well that advertising such products is usually well paid. In other countries, the fee for such a post could be four figures,” says Agnija, who was shocked by the offer.

“They send me their product and later ask—so, when will you feature us? Meat producers were even among these clever people. Yes, they sent me a piece of meat! Sorry, but I do not work for food,” says brunch.lv editor Jevģēnija Šafraneka, laughing.

A famous video blogger whose show This is Хорошо!  on YouTube is followed by more than 6 million people has also encountered many curiosities. For example, Coca-Cola was unable to make him “take a deep sip of the drink”—the term used in the company’s professional jargon for a close-up shot in which the star drinks the beverage with pleasure. Stas and his team refused to do this during filming.

“From time to time, we receive offers from obscure companies—forex and cryptocurrency traders... But we do not want to damage our bloggers’ karma by working with questionable businesses,” says Stas.