What Happened When Libbey Inc Tried to Exploit an Instagram Chef
Lesson learned: don’t try to come for creators who know what they’re worth.
The best thing about Twitter is sometimes you get to see a beautiful train wreck in rightful revenge and learn something, too. That’s exactly what happened when Libbey, a well-known glassware company, tried to get Angela Davis, AKA @TheKitchenista on Instagram, to promote their products and do free photography for them. For a budget of…. wine and some glassware.
For context, Davis has an extremely popular website, Instagram account, and Twitter account to name just a few audiences. That’s what was so galling about the request: had Libbey really not done their research into who they were contacting? Or did they really think they could pull a fast one on her despite her success and savvy?
Especially as a burgeoning freelancer myself, I was fascinated to learn from her thread what happens when a corporation who really should know better reached out to an established influencer who isn’t afraid to call them out for their shady practices. The short answer: they get the reach they wanted, but not in the way they had bargained on.
