If You Have 30,000 Or More Followers, You're Officially A Celebrity

Back in the day, the term 'celebrity' was saved for people who got papped in the streets, attended exclusive A-list parties, and whose names would be plastered across tabloid headlines.

However, thanks to social media and the digital revolution, every man and his dog can enjoy fame if they want to (all fifteen minutes of it).

In fact, these days you don't even have to be particularly well known to be famous anymore. According to the UK ad regulator, Advertising Standards Agency, anyone with 30,000 or more followers on social media can adopt the moniker.

The figure came following a landmark case around Instagram influencer ThisMamaLife, who posted an ad for Phenergan Night Time sleeping tablets to her 32,000 followers.

The original ad showed the blogger in a pair of PJs with a packet of Phenergan Night Time Tablets visible in the background.

Although she noted the post was an ad at the start of its description, the ASA ruled that the number of followers meant she's a celebrity and is therefore not allowed to endorse drugs in the UK.

ThisMamaLife/Instagram

In the defence, the drug company that paid for the ad, Sanofi, argued that the influencer had a smaller following to other people who are deemed famous.

They raise a good point, when you consider household names like David Beckham and Cara Delevingne have 55m and 42m respectively.

However, the ASA countered the argument by claiming that anyone with 30,000 or more followers fits into the category.

The agency said: "We noted Sanofi's argument regarding the comparatively low number of followers ThisMamaLife had in contrast to notable celebrities.

"However, we considered that over 30,000 followers indicated that she had the attention of a significant number of people.

"Given that she was popular with, and had the attention of a large audience, we considered that ThisMamaLife was a celebrity for the purposes of the CAP Code."

PA

And so they won the case, while also releasing statistics that will be applied to the wider influencer community and also to pop culture overall. The meaning behind the word 'celebrity' is shifting as social media takes precedence in society - just take a look at the Kardashians.

Turns out if you want to be famous, 30,000 is the magic number. Get ready to sign some autographs.

Topics: Influencer, UK News, Celebrity, Social Media

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Daisy is a UK-based freelance journalist with too many opinions. She loves everything film and music-related and has a track record writing for Little White Lies, BWRC, and Film Daily. Contact her at [email protected]