Brit and AJ Anderson, the couple in charge of the Anderson family’s online presence, have recently announced Brit’s third pregnancy, and they couldn’t be more excited for the social media engagement it’s already getting them. The couple announced the prospect of a new baby in a segment CBC posted on YouTube that showcases the family’s brilliance behind the screen.
CBC Comedy’s video satirizes family vloggers and online personalities by displaying the fictitious Anderson family. The family operates with one goal in mind: a large social media following that paves the way for brand deals and sponsorships. Being a professional internet family has grown dramatically the past couple of years, and this CBC parody hits right on the realistic but strange, somewhat exploitative side of the industry.
The mock couple already has two children. Their oldest is Jade, who’s best known for her singing makeup tutorials. Rider, the second child, is beginning to dabble in social media with some Snapchat water bottle flips and some dabs. Rider has goals like the rest of the family, and as long as he has a sizable following by “18 or so,” his parents will be happy, he said.
The short video hilariously displays the bizarre priorities of the made-up family and potentially offers insight into the dynamic of vlogger families. Sunday nights are game nights, for example, when the family members all put away their phones and spend time together, AJ said.
Lifestyle blogger and social media mommy, Brit, actually celebrated hitting 500,000 followers on her blog, A Cup of Brit, recently. AJ is an astonishing “man of three accounts” as well as a pioneer of his personal brand, “Try.” “Try” is a noble cause because, as AJ said himself, “Unless you try, you never know.” AJ has approached Starbucks about potentially partnering with the Try brand, but according to AJ, the “Try” brand could work with anything.
Partnerships and brand deals are a constant focus of any professional social media personality, and the idea of a “personal brand” has grown exponentially because of this. The extremely broad “brand” AJ has cultivated sheds some light on how real influencers try hard to broaden their marketability to maximize companies willing to sponsor them.
The social media family niche is competitive, but this parody family is killing it with an impressive 7 million followers collectively. After all, the $1.3 million they made from sponsored content last year doesn’t lie. Just don’t forget to “smash that like button.”