Mr and Mrs Insta
As a couple, we’d love to work with Chanel. They have incredible dresses, tailored suits and accessories. We can dream!’
Unless you’re a social-media refusenik, you can’t have missed the rise of everyday people carving careers from an Instafeed of yoga posing/outfit sharing/ramen eating. The fact is that brands are desperate to find new ways to connect with potential customers. In this climate, Instagram stars – with their appeal of being ‘real’ and yet adored by thousands and sometimes millions of followers – have become very attractive. In fact, industry estimates say that brands spend more than $1 billion per year on sponsored Instagram posts. While the rest of us may still be yearning for double-digit likes on that cute puppy pic, these duos are taking their Insta-brands to the next ‘super-couple’ level.
Anna Whitehouse, 35, and husband Matt Farquharson, 39, have co-branded their Instagram profiles. Following the success of Anna’s @mother_pukka online brand (tagline: ‘For people who happen to be parents’), she encouraged Matt to set up @papa_pukka as an extension. ‘Mother Pukka was created because Anna wanted a platform for parents that wasn’t twee or judgemental,’ says freelance copywriter Matt. Setting up the brand allowed Anna to quit her own copywriting job and fit work around their toddler Mae. A year on, and with over 40,000 followers, Anna persuaded Matt to get involved to attract even more followers and brand deals.
So far, it’s working. Brands are queuing up to be featured, and the pair have been signed by Gleam Futures, the agency that looks after super-vlogger Zoella. ‘The ultimate aim is merchandise, books, branded content,’ says Anna, ‘There’s a long journey ahead.’ And it doesn’t stop at @papa_pukka. Anna’s mum has a @grandmother_pukka Instagram and her sister has a @sister_pukka account. ‘I describe it as Meet The Pukkas,’ laughs Anna. ‘Do I see a reality show ahead? Maybe! But it would be less Kim Kardashian and more Kim Car-crashian. Instagram can seem like this perfect world so I set out to show a more human side, but still with a fashion polish. I might prance around in heels in front of colourful walls but my captions counteract that with some honesty.’
While casual Instagrammers might fret over whether to go Lark or Juno, Anna and Matt are mindful of keeping their feed ‘real’. ‘If I’m flogging a mouthwash, followed by a nipple teat and then a car, our followers will scarper,’ explains Anna. ‘I make sure the ratio of organic, fun, mad content to branded content is healthy; say four to one.’ Luckily, Matt enjoys being half of Instagram’s latest power couple, and hasn’t ruled out working full-time on the Mother Pukka empire. ‘He’s more into it now than I am,’ she says. ‘He knows it’s not just a vanity project. It’s a proper business that I’ve invested £8,000 into.’
So why are these regular couples finding fame online, when it was once the turf of the Beckhams and the Kardashian clan? ‘We find everyday people more relatable than celebrities, even if their lives are glamorous, edited and slightly unrealistic,’ says Emma Gannon, author of Ctrlalt Delete: How I Grew Up Online. ‘Our brains arere morem likely to believe it’s possible for us to replicate a similar lifestyle when it comes from a non-celebrity in high-street clothes.’
However, Anna admits they do argue about where to take things next. ‘When you’re working with your partner, there will always be an impact on your relationship.’ Getting that work/ life balance when your work is your life is a challenge, too. ‘We have to create time for each other,’ says Matt. ‘We’ll say, “OK, let’s open a bottle of wine and talk nonsense for 20 minutes.”’
After vlogging daily for seven years, US Youtube sensations Jesse Wellens and Jeana Smith, both 33, announced in May that they were splitting, citing the pressure of being a
‘perfect couple’ as the cause. ‘It’s hard work being happy and upbeat all the time,’ says Victoria. ‘Daily vlogging is tough. We’ve agreed that if it ever gets to the point where we’re unhappy, then we’ll stop working together. Our relationship comes first.’ However, if the worst happened, Victoria is confident that In The Frow would survive: ‘I built the brand myself for three years. It’s only recently that Alex has started working with me. It would probably mean more girly trips to get the content I need… and I guess I’d have to hire a photographer pronto!’
Balancing real life with being an online brand is an issue that Clemmie Hooper, 31, and Simon Hooper, 33, are well aware of. As @mother_of_daughters (49,000 followers) and @father_of_daughters (59,000 followers), the couple document their lives with four girls: eight-month-old twins Ottilie and Delilah, and their older sisters Marnie, six, and Anya, nine. They’ve just signed a partnership with luxe baby brand Stokke and midwife Clemmie has landed a book deal. ‘When you’re taking photos of your family, you’ve got to learn where to draw the line,’ she says. ‘Anya will ask how many likes a photo has. I don’t want it to have a negative effect on her. But my photos are all just real life – none of it is staged. I’ll never put pressure on the kids to pose and I’ll always prioritise family time over Instagram photos.’
As for those of us who are following these couples, Emma Gannon stresses it’s important not to swallow the dream whole. She explains: ‘We assume someone has a perfect life from just one perfect photo. We need to remember these are snippets of someone’s showreel.’
Victoria maintains that everything on her Instagram is real life, albeit a polished version: ‘I might move a coffee cup nearer to the plate so it looks better, but everything I photograph is something I’ve seen, bought, eaten or worn.’ She admits, though, that she’s relentlessly positive on Instagram, even if she’s having a bad day. ‘I never write a caption saying I’m feeling down because if people are having a bad day, it might make them feel worse,’ she says. ‘And I’d get comments from people saying “What have you got to feel down about?”’ Instead, Victoria saves that honesty for Snapchat. ‘My Snapchat is totally realistic – it’s me slobbing about, saying I’m feeling a bit rubbish – real life, as it’s happening.’
Meanwhile, Simon’s determined not to show an unrealistic version of his life on Instagram. ‘There’s too much sugar-coating on there, so I want to show a realistic picture of what being a dad is like,’ he says. Matt agrees, saying, ‘People don’t want to see the dirty nappies but they don’t want you to lie to them either. We’re real. I’d say we’re like the Primark Beckhams.’
At the moment, all three couples say that if the Instagram bubble bursts (unlikely given the huge success of new update platform Instagram Stories), they’ll focus on the next big thing. ‘Complacency is my biggest fear,’ says Victoria. ‘My idols have millions of followers – I want to be like them, travelling the world and creating even better content. I’m never satisfied.’ n
‘People don’t want to see the dirty nappies but they don’t want you to lie either. We’re real. We’re like the Primark Beckhams’