Top anchor "takes the blame" for the brand? Luo Wangyu refunds 150 million yuan and quits the Internet...

In the wave of live streaming, the influence of top anchors cannot be underestimated, but they also bear huge responsibilities. Recently, beauty blogger Luo Wangyu refunded 150 million yuan out of her own pocket due to the "CSS Olive Essence" incident, and had the idea of ​​quitting the Internet, which attracted widespread attention from both inside and outside the industry. This incident not only exposed the problem of false propaganda in live streaming, but also triggered discussions about the responsibilities of brands and bloggers. This article will explore the reasons behind this incident, its impact and its implications for the industry.

Five months later, the sensational "CSS Olive Essence" incident ended with top beauty blogger Luo Wangyu paying 150 million yuan out of his own pocket.

After this incident, Luo Wangyu even considered quitting the Internet.

It is clearly false advertising by the brand, so why should the top blogger pay for it? Who should be held responsible?

1. Do top bloggers pay for brands?

"For all users who have purchased CSS Olive Essence on Luo Wangyu’s account, whether it is live broadcast or window display, I, Luo Wangyu, will refund you the full amount." On July 12, Luo Wangyu released a new video again and announced the final handling plan for the CSS Olive Essence incident.

Back in February this year, the review blogger "Da Hu Ke Zhan" selected 6 popular olive essences on the market for ingredient testing, but the test results were unexpected -

The test report shows that the main ingredients of olive active ingredients, namely oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol, were not detected in the CSS Olive Soothing Essence product (referred to as "CSS Olive Essence").

However, in the actual promotion process, both the brand and the bloggers claimed that the product contained high levels of oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol, and that the main ingredients of the product were these two active substances.

So, is this false advertising by the brand?

Consumers have demanded refunds, but the brand has not come forward to take responsibility.

In March, the brand involved, CSS Xiyancui, released a statement saying that it supports unconditional refunds within 15 days and refunds for unopened products within 90 days; in April, the brand again released relevant explanations, saying that it was "due to inaccurate compilation and writing of information", which means that it admitted to false advertising, but did not release a solution.

The brand chose to remain invisible, and the blogger had to "take the blame".

After learning that there was a problem with the essence product, "Huamei", a beauty blogger with millions of followers, chose to quickly admit the mistake and fully refund the consumer. He also posted on Xiaohongshu to explain that he might have encountered a situation where the merchant shipped AB goods, or that there was a problem with the raw materials in the brand's 2024 batch of products.

Among the bloggers who promoted this essence, Luo Wangyu had the most fans and the highest GMV. Therefore, Luo Wangyu was at the center of public attention.

According to Luo Wangyu's introduction in the video, if all refunds are made, he expects to pay more than 150 million yuan. Because the amount involved is too large and the brand is unwilling to refund, the solution to the incident has been delayed again and again. Luo Wangyu said that he also thought about suing, but felt that this cycle would take longer, so he finally chose to pay the compensation personally, hoping to give an explanation to his fans.

Luo Wangyu once had over 20 million followers. After the incident, he has lost 1.48 million followers, and now has 18.522 million followers on his Douyin account.

Previously, Luo Wangyu had broadcast more than 10 shows a month, with an average sales of 1 million to 2.5 million. However, Luo Wangyu only broadcast two live broadcasts in June, with an average sales of 250,000 to 500,000, and did not broadcast live broadcasts in July.

2. Who is responsible, the brand or the blogger?

In the eyes of many consumers, this incident is a brand problem and Luo Wangyu should not be held solely responsible.

However, Li Chao, an expert at Kant Think Tank and a lawyer at Shanghai Dongdao Law Firm, said that as a live streamer, Luo Wangyu has the responsibility to review and disclose true information when recommending products. Therefore, if the products he recommends are proven to have false advertising problems, he may still need to bear corresponding legal responsibilities.

On July 1, the newly promulgated "Regulations on the Implementation of the Consumer Rights Protection Law" also made many regulations on the characteristics and outstanding issues of live e-commerce:

First, information disclosure must be strengthened. Live streaming sales must clearly state “who is selling the goods” and “whose goods are being sold”;

Second, improve platform management. Platform operators should establish and improve consumer rights protection systems, clarify consumer dispute resolution mechanisms, and actively assist consumers in safeguarding their rights.

The third is to standardize marketing behaviors and make it clear that “everyone has a responsibility” for the platform, the live broadcast room, and the anchor, and they all need to assume corresponding responsibilities and obligations.

In the past two years, there have been many bloggers with millions or tens of millions of followers who have failed in the beauty industry.

In November last year, Liu Yuanyuan, an internet celebrity with tens of millions of fans, was also embroiled in a controversy over false advertising of products in her live broadcast rooms.

It is understood that Liu Yuanyuan promoted a certain essence product worth 399 yuan in the live broadcast room, claiming that the product can remove 50.76% of nasolabial lines, and that expensive black truffles and white truffles are added to the product for better skin care effects.

A consumer in Zhejiang Province purchased the essence in her live broadcast room and received a facial mask and sample with the order. When the consumer checked the relevant registration information of the product, he found that the registered ingredients of the essence did not achieve the effect that Liu Yuanyuan advertised in the live broadcast room.

In response to this, Liu Yuanyuan's live broadcast room responded: "The effects in the live broadcast room are all presented with reports."

However, when consumers sought redress, staff said that the product's sales pitch was given by the brand or merchant, and Liu Yuanyuan only needed to repeat the merchant's pitch when she was live streaming and selling goods. If there was a problem with the product, consumers were advised to go directly to the merchant.

Finally, the Hangzhou Yuhang District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau intervened in the incident and fined Liu Yuanyuan's company Hangzhou Yuanchuang Company 60,000 yuan for inaccurate and unclear descriptions of the performance, function or price of the products when promoting them.

There are also bloggers who, although not suspected of breaking the law, have caused controversy because "the product is not easy to use" or "it is different from what is advertised."

Previously, the "no-Photoshop" liquid foundation product jointly created by beauty blogger Yongzai and beauty brand Galima has been controversial.

Some consumers have posted their evaluation results of this liquid foundation on platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin. Some people think that this liquid foundation can last for 8 hours and is very easy to use. However, some consumers said that they felt a little uncomfortable when they first put it on, that the waterproof effect is not very good, and that they would "sweat white sweat". In addition, this liquid foundation is very picky about the user's skin condition. After using it, people with poor skin will suffer from a "disaster" facial condition.

However, individual skin conditions do differ when using beauty products, so the matter was ultimately left unresolved.

3. As big anchors retreat, will the industry accelerate a reshuffle?

The "CSS Olive Essence" incident actually served as a wake-up call to beauty bloggers.

Luo Wangyu said that this did expose their loopholes in product testing. So after the incident, they conducted detailed testing and classification of the main products to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Now, he has revealed his intention to quit the Internet. One reason is that he is exhausted by this matter, and the other is that he feels "as if he is no longer needed."

Since last year, many big anchors have gradually reduced the frequency of live broadcasts, retreated behind the scenes, or explored growth opportunities outside the live broadcast room.

In September last year, Li Jiaqi said that it was difficult to regain his previous enthusiasm for work, as live streaming made him exhausted. Now he has extended his tentacles to his own brands. Crazy Xiao Yangge, who announced at the beginning of the year that he would reduce the frequency of live streaming, did not continue the grand occasion of continuous live streaming during the 618 promotion in previous years, and tried short dramas. Simba said in the live broadcast room that he would reduce live streaming and think about the entrepreneurial transformation in the direction of AI...

The retreat of big anchors may be a testament to the gradual fading of the benefits of live streaming sales.

First, the super-head anchors began to lose their price advantage. Nowadays, for various considerations, brands will take back their bargaining power and increase the intensity of store-owned broadcasts.

A leading MCN agency once revealed to Xinbochang that most brands are now very powerful, and the status of big anchors can be said to be different from the past. Instead, anchors need brands more.

Secondly, consumers no longer blindly believe in the "recommendations" of big anchors.

The frequent failures in the live streaming e-commerce industry have made consumers more cautious; and the strategy of planting seeds through large-scale advertising and then converting goods through live streaming is unlikely to be 100% effective.

Consumer Xiaoqi told Xinbochang that she will no longer blindly buy a product when she sees many bloggers enthusiastically recommending it.

"Every time a new product comes out, I get lost in the praise of beauty bloggers and place an order. But the actual experience after buying it is not very good. I no longer believe in the recommendations and recommendations of bloggers."

A well-known MCN agency in the industry revealed: "In fact, domestic brands and small brands now prefer mid-level bloggers. Through the mass promotion of mid-level bloggers, they can quickly increase brand awareness and successfully open up the market. As for the top bloggers, at most one or two are found."

With the exaggerated efficacy and the recommendation of many bloggers, it is hard not to attract consumers. But the problem is that the bloggers’ understanding of the efficacy and so-called added ingredients of the product is limited to the information and rhetoric provided by the brand. Over time, consumers will not place orders impulsively.

The lever of industry reshuffle has been levered. For brands and anchors, new challenges have also arrived.

Source: WeChat public account "New Broadcasting Field"