Maybe Nara Smith’s Marc Jacobs Ad Campaign Wasn’t Baked From Scratch After All
TikTok content creator Nara Smith’s recent ad campaign with Marc Jacobs has been lauded for its creativity, but eagle-eyed TikTok users have been pointing out that Nara’s video idea resembles another TikTok influencer’s video, which was posted a year earlier.
Maybe Nara Smith’s Marc Jacobs collaboration wasn’t “made from scratch” after all. This wouldn’t be the first time Nara Smith has been accused of plagiarizing other content creators’ TikTok video ideas. There have been threads about Nara’s work on Twitter that have been compared to various other content creators.
In these comparisons, Nara would take recipes from other influencers that had been uploaded at an earlier date. Although the format of the videos would be aesthetically different, the recipe for the food would be the same. TikTok user Onezwa, who directly called Nara Smith out for stealing her recipes, has spoken about this on her account.
Those who defend Nara claim that the style and the aesthetics of the videos are different, and it’s enough to differentiate these creators. After all, Nara never claimed to own the recipes. But the real issue has to do with Nara’s failure to give credit to other creators. There are no links to the recipes in her videos, and people freely assume that these recipes are made by Nara herself.
Another uncredited idea from a different content creator
On her TikTok account, Mary Korlin-Downs posted a video about the same red Marc Jacobs Tote Bag, dated December 29, 2023. The video shows Mary cooking up a bag in her kitchen. It’s a creative idea, but it has only gotten above ten thousand likes at the time.
But on July 23, 2024, the official TikTok account of Marc Jacobs would post a video collaborating with Nara Smith about the same red tote bag. Nara rose to fame because of her cooked-from-scratch videos, and the ad campaign seemed to be on brand for her. In the video, she was seen “baking” a Marc Jacobs Tote Bag from scratch. Compared to the previous video, which was similar in concept, Nara’s video racked up millions of likes on TikTok.
Nara allegedly spliced two videos from Mary
Mary has spoken about the issue on her own TikTok account. She has expressed disappointment at Marc Jacobs for the lack of credit she was given for her ideas. Additionally, she claims that Nara has not stolen one, but two video ideas from her and spliced them together for the Marc Jacobs ad campaign.
Nara Smith and Marc Jacobs have yet to address the controversy. But the comments in Marc Jacobs and Nara’s collaboration video on TikTok show that commenters are aware of the issue at hand.
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