Greetings from Pula beach on the southern tip of Sardinia. Probably one of the most idyllic places on the Italian island to holiday. Yet I find myself scrolling though Instagram looking at a collection of different social postings (addict).
A certain personality I follow has just posted a video clip of a really cool new beach towel that is sand resistant. I think to myself how silly I was not to buy one. I mean, I don't know whether it actually works, but if XXX celebrity says it does then it must actually be sand resistant. My Instagram scrolling sunbathing experience could have been sand free!
Celebrity endorsement is a powerful machine. From influencing how we dress, places to visit, the hottest trends in food and diets, political bias and what seems even more sinister, our medical decisions. Celebrity advertising on social media has a power beyond what we could have anticipated or predicted: altering purchasing decisions and even changing human choices and behaviour.
The glamorous lifestyles that celebrities exude and display on social media is something many aspire to. We want to live this life and use the products they use, thinking that by doing so we will at least have a share in the luxury they enjoy. But, why does celebrity endorsement work?
Humans have always been influenced by others. Studies have shown that a familiar face gives confidence in buying a product. We give preference to people who are familiar and this affinity makes us feel trust towards that person - a false connection indeed, but sense of trust significant in manipulating our behaviour.
Psychologists have also shown that the more familiar a person is to us, the happier we are in responding to them. Marketers do a good job of exploiting these human behaviours and use this fame phenomenon to promote their products.
I want to discuss how using fame and celebrities to promote products has its dangers, even to the educated among us, as the reality is, it's not just beach towel suggestions we are exposed to...
And this takes me back to my story, as I currently write this post sunning myself on a beautiful Sardinian beach lying on my sandy towel. Holidaying with old university friends with two of the group pregnant, we started talking about birth and the usual pregnancy chat, when one of my pregnant friends announced she was going to have her baby's placenta made into tablets. Err, what?
Human placentophagy, so it has become coined, or consumption of the placenta, is defined as, "The ingestion of a human placenta postpartum, at any time, by any person, either in raw or altered forms." Placenta encapsulation (making into tablets) is becoming a trendy method of preparing the placenta for consumption - you can read how that is done here.
Now, as a person trained in a scientific field, I am always naturally quizzical about these things. Immediately I jumped off my towel (sand everywhere) to launch a barrage of questions...
Why on earth would you want to do that? What is the scientific evidence to show these pills do anything? What if there are negative side effects? ARE THERE ANY SIDE EFFECTS?!! Surely you will be breastfeeding - can the pills effect that? How much do they cost? What else is added to the pills? Are they prepared in sterile environments? What about bacteria and contamination?
To my dismay, she admitted to me that she had heard about this from Coleen Rooney on social media, who insisted that it really helped improve her wellbeing avoiding postpartum depression and other pregnancy complications. Oh, and of course she let me know that the Kardashians have done it too. (On a side note, I would like there to be some transparency around how much these celebrities have been paid to endorse these so called life-changing pills/or if they have a personal stake in the companies offering this service).
So, I listened to Kourtney Kardashian and I did #lookitup.
Currently there are some credible theories (I say THEORIES) to support the benefits of placentophagy. However evidence is limited, dated and inconclusive. Current and systematic research is needed! I repeat there is currently no medical evidence to back up claims that eating placenta can boost a mother's health.
This trend has come about because some animals or mammals practise it, so, in evolutionary terms, surely there is a benefit to us humans? We are effectively mimicking a mammalian process in the hope we may end up with the Kardashian post-birth glow.
I mean, really would you be willing to ingest something that hasn't gone through clinical trials, because it has made Coleen Rooney feel better? Frustratingly it turns out some of us are willing. And that is scary. No one has studied what is in the prepared placenta pills and the effect this has on the body in a scientifically sound trial. I am not saying there isn't anything to placentophagy - but it needs to be supported by sound science. And when this happens, I am happy to be proven wrong.
Sadly, this is one example of many! But in fairness, I must point out that not all not all celebrity endorsements are inappropriate. Some actually can raise awareness for significant issues and also promote healthy lifestyles. But the concern is for those that don't. Surely in today's age celebrities have a social reasonability? If this post does anything, I hope it makes celebrities stop and think, before they click upload.