Hello everyone,
It’s been a while since I’ve written a letter to a brand and in the meantime, a couple of them have really disappointed me. I needed to get this off my chest and I’d like to hear your thoughts about it too. And if you have something you want to say to any other brand, feel free to write your own letter in the comments. So, here goes:
Dear nail polish brands,
why can’t you seem to be doing business in an ethical way lately? First, Ciate, you send cease and desist orders to bloggers to remove images of their DIY caviar manicures on the grounds that, because you are in the process of trademarking the terms “caviar manicure” and “caviar nails”, whoever uses these terms is infringing on your copyright. And to make matters worse, you haven’t even invented the caviar manicure, so I’m not sure why you should have the right to copyright it in the first place…
Then, Sinful Colors you “borrow” photos from a couple of bloggers, whose watermarks you have removed, and used them, without their explicit permission in your promotional campaign. And to add insult to injury, those photos weren’t even of your own products! The bloggers were wearing Color Club and Opi nail polishes! Like, seriously?! And even after you’ve “apologized”, those displays were still in stores?!
At least China Glaze apologized for real, offering compensation and a job to Abigail Larson when they used her artwork without permission in their Wicked campaign. Such mistakes shouldn’t happen in the first place, but at least they’ve taken responsibility for it and did the decent thing, which is why I’ll still support the brand. Of course it’s not just nail polish brands that are misbehaving, but they seem to be doing it more often lately, which is very worrying.
I feel very uneasy now when I see your counter in the shop, Sinful Colors. I was so glad when you first came here but now I’m not sure I want to support you, or Ciate, anymore. And if more brands follow your bad examples, soon I won’t be able to buy nail polish at all. But why are so many brands making such stupid blunders in the first place? It’s not like they don’t know stealing is wrong, and even if it is the fault of one single, lazy employee, well, isn’t there anyone who checks what they’re doing?
The blogosphere has changed the way people do business and it’s much harder for brands to get away with this crap now than it was in the past and thank goodness for that! Once you let down your customers, it’s very hard to get that trust back. If you act straight away to set your wrongs to right, like China Glaze did, then you’ll be forgiven. Otherwise they’ll shop elsewhere. And it’s always sad when someone decides to boycott a brand. So, next time, think twice about what you’re doing.
I really hope that these are isolated episodes and that, the next time I’ll talk about you, Sinful Colors and Ciate, it’ll be in a more positive light. Goodbye for now,
Gio
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I totally agree!
Sinful Colors still seems to be using the stolen image, with some modifications too! It’s crazy.
kuri´s last [type] ..on refraining from buying
Kuri, that’s outrageous. It shows how meaningless their apology was. It’s really sad cos I love their nail polishes but I don’t really feel like supporting a brand that behaves like that.
Yeah, really! Anyway, just for reference, my source
:
http://www.pinksith.com/2012/08/rant-2-sinful-colors-is-still-at-it.html
Thanks for the link.
Situations like these really disappoint me
.
Ana´s last [type] ..Robyn Beeche, 1983, Kim
Ana, me too. It’s appalling the way certain brands behave..
i like the way CG handled the whole issue, and addressed it well. For Ciate, it’s distasteful, I have no idea what happen with Sinful Colours, but using people’s work without giving them credit? HORRIBLE.
There might be tonnes of other smaller brands who are using ppl’s images/ artwork for their own gain, but because they are small, not many ppl notice it.
Truth is, if you want to gain good reputation, please be original, or at least be creative and improvise on something that others have done and give the originals some credit! The originals deserve that much!
plue´s last [type] ..Off To The Land of Smiles!
Plue, I agree with everything you said. It’s disgraceful to just use other people’s work without giving them any credit at all. And they must know that it’s very likely they’re gonna get caught (even if for smaller brands that’s more difficult) and thus their reputation will be damaged. Why risk it when you can just credit the source?
I like how CG handled it too. It’s heartwarming to know that some brand do try to make amends when they make a mistake.
Go Gio! Ciate made a big mistake messing with bloggers with their ridiculous cease and desist letters. They should have gotten bloggers on board to promote their caviar manicure, not threaten them. Instead, they’re now a laughingstock of the blogosphere.
Tine´s last [type] ..Apologies While We Change In Front Of You
Many beauty bloggers still use and promote Ciate nail varnish although they’re a laughingstock. What’s wrong with those bloggers?
Mylanqolia´s last [type] ..Die limitierte CIN, CIN Box von CINZANO Asti im Herbst
Mylanqolia, part of me wants to hope they’re not aware of how Ciate behaved. Otherwise, it’s hard to imagine how they could be comfortable promoting the brand. But I guess it may not be a big deal to some people, after all..
Tine, I agree. That was completely out of order and totally unnecessary. Now they’ve alienated a lot of people when it could all have been so different if only they had tried to work with, not against, bloggers.
Well written. I’ve read about the insane Ciate incident a few months ago and was totally shocked that make up brands can behave like idiots. But I didn’t know that Sinful Colors nicks pictures in the blogosphere to advertise their products. Picture theft is a crime. Honestly, that’s barbaric. But oh well, I’m somehow happy that I’m not addicted to nail polish because I’m not good at manicures. So, no brand ever wants to steal my images, haha!
Mylanqolia´s last [type] ..Think pink!
Mylanqolia, lol. I’m appalled at how some brands behave and at what they can get away with. Especially stealing people’s pictures. It’s not like they don’t know that stealing is a crime. It’s unfair to think that just because an image is on the internet, and bloggers don’t have a lot of money to start a lawsuit, then they can do whatever they want with it. It’s disgraceful!
I completely agree with you about the brands you mentioned above.
Dear Caudalie,
I’m thoroughly impressed with your products, and the performance is worth the price. I love that your products are made in France and your packaging is practical. Thank you for having samples that last more than one use, replying the next day to my question, and having generous offers. My online order was delivered quickly and carefully packaged. I just finished some of your products and I am definitely going to purchase from you again.
-Janessa
I wanted to write a compliment letter
Janessa, I love your letter to Caudalie. A brand deserves praise when they behave well and sounds like they have a wonderful customer service. It’s good to know their products work well too.