Dunkin Donuts, Food Blogging And Stealth Marketing

A year ago there was a donut frenzy in Singapore. It was one of those food trends. Before that it was kaya toast and then way before that it was Taiwanese bubble tea.  I haven’t had kaya toast or bubble tea in a year or more and am not craving for either.   I think when there trends, and a glut of the same type of shops, people soon become sick of that item.  After all, like my dad used to love to say, variety is the spice of life.

Before Dunkin Donuts opened shop again at ION, people were actually buying donuts at MRT stations (Singapore subway stations) sold by entrepreneurial young people who probably bought them from Batam in Indonesia or Malaysia. I am still awaiting the famed Krispey Kreme Donuts to arrive on Singapore’s shores. I had them in Hong Kong, but my partner tells me the ones in the US are even better.

I am not so much a fan of donuts but the chocolate one here is pretty good except for the too sweet icing on top (I know…boring choice) and the usually crowded cafe was quite empty as it was still early at 11 am on a Saturday. B dragged me out of bed when I should have been snoozing with the rest of Singapore.

Lately there has been a controversy about a food blogger that has brought the notion of food blogging and food bloggers who get free food, into the Singapore spotlight.  What I think is that once the owners know your identity the mission is compromised.  I’d rather be anonymous and give totally unbiased food reviews.  I also find it invasive and I won’t be able to relax and enjoy my food if I know someone is watching my every mouthful.  The idea of free food makes me uncomfortable, because I think there are always strings attached.  Restaurants these days are realizing how pervasive blogs are and are using food bloggers to conduct their stealth marketing and are extending invites to them.  I don’t like this either as I find stealth marketing deceptive.  This is the premise of the movie The Joneses. I wonder if this really goes on and if it does, it sure is scary to me.  It’s no wonder we suffer from affluenza.  Consumerism, keeping up with the Joneses, I think it can be pretty hazardous to your happiness.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM70zDrERfw]

Anyway I started this blog to let my family and friends in on what’s going on in my restless mind.  It’s a bit of a Facebook page for me (with better privacy controls) and I like to talk about what I’ve eaten or whatever catches my whim and fancy.  Also I may like a restaurant today, but sometime in the future when their standards fall I can then chose not to like them.  I can gripe about bad service or people who have been mean to me. It’s lovely to vent! This is not possible if you’re affiliated to them in any way. If I ever make anything from a blog it would be from something like Nuffnang (which is an ad service that allows you to remain anonymous, a bit like Google Ads but better).  I tried this on my older blogspot blogs and even though you only make like nothing at all or a few cents a week, something is better than nothing. I haven’t seen any money because you need to make at least S$50 and pay a fee of S$1 to cash out your cheque and that may take a few years! It’s a pity that the free WordPress doesn’t allow this, but Blogger does. Having said that, I still prefer WordPress for all it’s features and I do like a blog that is free of ads and is all about the art of writing.

photo by bookjunkie

photo by bookjunkie

photo by bookjunkie

photo by bookjunkie

About bookjunkie

Blogging about life in Singapore & recently cancer too.
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