Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir #48: Long Time Running

[Bigbird]

I half admire her hustle and half am disappointed that despite what she says about carefully selecting what she chooses to endorse, it seems like she’ll endorse anything. Or if she is selective, then her judgment is kind of lacking, which explains that reality show she and Scott did. And I found the dry shampoo picture funny because of the way that bottle was cut and pasted onto her left hand even though she clearly wasn’t holding it. Also, was the message that female super heroes should also be mindful of their grooming and hair?

Look at Ashley Wagners page. Many of these women have been severely impacted by the unrealistic standards of beauty imposed on them by the sport. I remember Tessa talking about her own federation enquiring about her body fat at high performance camp. I remember the Russians talking about Tessa's weight as if that were grounds for reducing their scores. I recall her saying that because of these issues she'd try to focus on her skating skills since she could not live up to people's expectations of what she should look like. We do not know the half of it. Maybe we should just be grateful that she shares anything at all.

 

[Khaleesi]

To me, how do they not empower girls and women? If she was hawking Coke, I would get it. I am not the one upset about Tessa’s Instagram.

My issue with the Tessa doll was that most of my friends’ kids who got one asked why there wasn’t a Scott doll to go with it.

I don’t think Scott wants anything to do with all of this. I honestly don’t think they talk anymore. This is what Scott said regarding sponsorships “I gave up some money but at the same time I haven’t regretted it a day, a single minute. I believe in the morals that I do. I believe in the projects I take part in and I think that has been my north star. This coaching move is exciting and I get to help the kids and it’s really fulfillment that I’m after instead of the dollars and cents.”

 

[sap5]

Maybe we should just be grateful that she shares anything at all.

If I had to choose between seeing a Tessa Kashi ad and seeing nothing at all, I’d choose nothing at all. I’d rather see great content once or twice a year than constant content that isn’t that great.

In a perfect world, I’d see Tessa talking about her nutritional habits both as an athlete, and now, post-career, how she’s adjusted, and how Kashi fits into that new nutritional plan.

 

[sap5]

I don’t think Scott wants anything to do with all of this. I honestly don’t think they talk anymore. This is what Scott said regarding sponsorships “I gave up some money but at the same time I haven’t regretted it a day, a single minute. I believe in the morals that I do. I believe in the projects I take part in and I think that has been my north star. This coaching move is exciting and I get to help the kids and it’s really fulfillment that I’m after instead of the dollars and cents.”

Maybe the reason that there is no Scott doll is because Scott turned the opportunity down; I don’t know. All I know is all the kids I know who wanted to re-enact VM’s ice dancing programs wondered why only 1/2 the team was available.

 

[manhn]

I haven't seen a Tessa Kashi ad. It's not like I actively avoid it either. Love to see it, as I don't know what Kashi is.

 

[Sylvia]

I haven't seen a Tessa Kashi ad. It's not like I actively avoid it either. Love to see it, as I don't know what Kashi is.

From November 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfqpe7_6FLE

 

[manhn]

OMG, so offensive!

 

[aka_gerbil]

Kashi is a cereal.

Tessa has an opportunity now to continue getting endorsements. Many endorsement deals these days require social media promotion. Fame doesn’t last forever, so I think Tessa is smart to keep taking endorsements now and earning money for her future. As Tony said upthread, if you don’t like the ads, don’t follow the account.

I do think there’s an undercurrent in the criticism from some people that they think Tessa should be sharing more personal details from her life. Point blank, full stop... she is not required to share anything personal on social media. I know plenty of skaters do, but it’s not a requirement.

 

[sap5]

OMG, so offensive!

What’s offensive about it?

This is more recent: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNStJoBjuoo/?igshid=16ka269fnw1qm

 

[overedge]

But maybe people want to follow Tessa's social media accounts to follow what's going on in her life - not every personal detail, but if she's going to be doing shows, how her MBA program is going, and so on. I can understand how people following her for those purposes might not want to be bombarded with #ads, especially if the #ads outweigh the other content.

 

[sap5]

Kashi is a cereal.

Tessa has an opportunity now to continue getting endorsements. Many endorsement deals these days require social media promotion. Fame doesn’t last forever, so I think Tessa is smart to keep taking endorsements now and earning money for her future. As Tony said upthread, if you don’t like the ads, don’t follow the account.

I do think there’s an undercurrent in the criticism from some people that they think Tessa should be sharing more personal details from her life. Point blank, full stop... she is not required to share anything personal on social media. I know plenty of skaters do, but it’s not a requirement.

I don’t think she should share personal details from her life. But if she makes a point to say that she carefully chooses projects that align with her mission, then I’d like to learn how they align with her mission.

The reason I follow her account is because I’m a fan. Of course I could unfollow, but to me that would be because I’m no longer a fan, and no longer care about what she posts at all. That’s not true, so why would I unfollow?

 

[aka_gerbil]

But maybe people want to follow Tessa's social media accounts to follow what's going on in her life - not every personal detail, but if she's going to be doing shows, how her MBA program is going, and so on. I can understand how people following her for those purposes might not want to be bombarded with #ads, especially if the #ads outweigh the other content.

But she’s not required to share that information with fans. If people want that kind of information about her life and don’t like the ads, then they don’t have to follow her to begin with or can choose to unfollow her. I don’t get all the drama around it. We don’t get to decide what others post on their social media accounts.

 

[tony]

But maybe people want to follow Tessa's social media accounts to follow what's going on in her life - not every personal detail, but if she's going to be doing shows, how her MBA program is going, and so on. I can understand how people following her for those purposes might not want to be bombarded with #ads, especially if the #ads outweigh the other content.

But she doesn’t have to share her details of her personal life and no one should expect any specific content regardless of the person. Some people create accounts and post pictures of scenery or cats only, never sharing a photo of themselves. Some overshare every last detail of what they are doing.

The big point I’m trying to make is that way too many skaters are left with zero once they retire and it’s very easy to see which ones are struggling with that transition. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m happy for the opportunities she gets and don’t care how staged everything appears.

 

[Wyliefan]

Ad after ad after ad is just boring. I'd think it would be more effective marketing, not to mention less annoying to fans, to carefully intersperse ads with more interesting content. Otherwise it's like watching TV that's nothing but commercials.

 

[tony]

Ad after ad after ad is just boring. I'd think it would be more effective marketing, not to mention less annoying to fans, to carefully intersperse ads with more interesting content. Otherwise it's like watching TV that's nothing but commercials.

But it’s not ad after ad after ad, anyone can go see her posts and it’s not as if she bombarded anyone’s time with a ton of ads in a row. I’m still confused

 

[Wyliefan]

I KNEW if I posted something in here you'd pounce on it. I just knew it.

 

[tony]

I KNEW if I posted something in here you'd pounce on it. I just knew it.

Let’s not be dramatic . It’s not difficult to go look and see it’s not what you’re claiming.

Also, if you’re on Instagram you’re seeing ads every third or fourth post while scrolling the main page anyways, and same thing with stories. So Instagram must drive you crazy in general

 

[sap5]

But she’s not required to share that information with fans. If people want that kind of information about her life and don’t like the ads, then they don’t have to follow her to begin with or can choose to unfollow her. I don’t get all the drama around it. We don’t get to decide what others post on their social media accounts.

Just like we don't get to decide what programs skaters do, what costumes they wear, or what music they pick. Yet every season we see loads of posts about all these topics. Why is this any different?

 

[overedge]

But she’s not required to share that information with fans. If people want that kind of information about her life and don’t like the ads, then they don’t have to follow her to begin with or can choose to unfollow her. I don’t get all the drama around it. We don’t get to decide what others post on their social media accounts.

No, she's not required to do that. But if she wants people to keep following her accounts - which is what makes her an "influencer" and makes companies want to give her sponsorships and $$$ - it seems pretty obvious that she needs to have content that's not just ads. Otherwise following her accounts would be like watching an endless infomercial.

I'd also think that if she is doing something like performing in a show or giving a seminar, she would want people to know about that so that she's not presenting or performing to an empty house.

 

[sap5]

No, she's not required to do that. But if she wants people to keep following her accounts - which is what makes her an "influencer" and makes companies want to give her sponsorships and $$$ - it seems pretty obvious that she needs to have content that's not just ads. Otherwise following her accounts would be like watching an endless infomercial.

I'd also think that if she is doing something like performing in a show or giving a seminar, she would want people to know about that so that she's not presenting or performing to an empty house.

I don't think there's any danger of that happening. Her fanbase is just shifting. Tons of people loved that dry shampoo ad. I bet if she posted that she will be appearing as Wonder Woman at a local mall to hand out free dry shampoo, there would need to be crowd control measures put into place.

Like I said before, she has lots of people following her social media, so she's obviously doing well. This is just a meaningless discussion about what some people would like to see done differently -- just like all the other meaningless discussions that take place on this site. It's really not a big deal.

 

[tony]

I’m going to take a wild guess that the segment of hardcore skating fans who are bothered by occasional ads don’t make up a whole lot of Tessa’s follower count, nor are they likely the ones who engage often with the content put on Instagram to begin. The super-active social media types probably give her posts a like and keep going without thinking twice, to be honest.

 

[overedge]

I don't think there's any danger of that happening. Her fanbase is just shifting. Tons of people loved that dry shampoo ad. I bet if she posted that she will be appearing as Wonder Woman at a local mall to hand out free dry shampoo, there would need to be crowd control measures put into place.

My point was that whatever public events she does, she will want to publicize them to maximize the turnout. And announcing them is the sort of content that she could put on her social media accounts without compromising her private life.

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

How I long for the days when advertising was exclusive to print or television. As others here aptly demonstrate,social media is a refuse heap for millennials.

I respect and admire how polished and classy Tessa's photo gallery is (with the obvious exception of that terrible shampoo advertisement).

-BB

 

[sap5]

I’m going to take a wild guess that the segment of hardcore skating fans who are bothered by occasional ads don’t make up a whole lot of Tessa’s follower count, nor are they likely the ones who engage often with the content put on Instagram to begin. The super-active social media types probably give her posts a like and keep going without thinking twice, to be honest.

I'd say that you're 100% correct, and I'd also say that most hardcore skating fans already know this.

 

[princeton123]

I really don’t think Tessa cares about “empowering” women at all. It’s just a PR line for her to use so her current business endeavors don’t seem as craven as they are. The only woman Tessa Virtue cares about empowering is Tessa Virtue.

If she did care, she’d speak up about sexual abuse in her sport. The whole #MeToo movement came without Tessa saying a single thing. She hasn't said a single valuable thing about feminism beyond trite soundbytes about "being limitless" and that's supremely disappointing for someone who allegedly cares about empowering girls, inspiring the next generation blah blah blah. If she wants to be an influencer and make money, she just do that instead of pretending there's a high-minded reason she's doing all this and her dry shampoo ads are supposed to be getting young girls to believe in themselves or whatever.

 

[Bigbird]

I think the issue lies with just how hyper staged everything is. It sort of lacks that authentic personal touch.

But hey it could just be a matter of personal taste. I do like the dance videos though and her lovely dog. It's hard to judge her too harshly though as it is her social media page. She can do whatever she wants.

 

[princeton123]

I don’t think Scott wants anything to do with all of this. I honestly don’t think they talk anymore.

You mean you aren't convinced by their stiff instagram comments to each other once every 6 months? Honestly, it baffles me how the pair of them were known for being so passionate and intensely felt on the ice together, and since retirement it's like watching two people who used to work at a bank together interact.

 

[Japanfan]

I really don’t think Tessa cares about “empowering” women at all. It’s just a PR line for her to use so her current business endeavors don’t seem as craven as they are. The only woman Tessa Virtue cares about empowering is Tessa Virtue.

Nor does she really care about "authenticity (is beautiful)" , her motto for Nivia.

SFAIK Tessa grew up in a wealthy family. She also grew up in a tiny town. So it seems to me she's led rather a sheltered and privileged life. I doubt she has much awareness of the struggles that so many women face. I've never heard that she has done community outreach work with women.

 

[puglover]

Tessa is still young and almost all of her life to this point has been focused on becoming the best she could be in a sport she loves. She obviously had the advantages of talent, beauty, and opportunity but without a strong work ethic, belief in herself, and willingness to sacrifice, she would not have become an olympic champion. Those sound like empowering qualities for girls and women to me. Not even their most ardent fans had any real idea of the pain she dealt with in her legs, two surgeries, and then learning a different way of stroking to keep their dream alive. Two kids - one from London, Ontario and one from Ilderton, dared to believe they could compete with the world's best ice dancers. Tessa did it while also taking university classes. She is very well spoken and insightful in her interviews. I don't really care if she makes a bit of money schlepping Lindt chocolates or whatever. I don't know what her relationship with Scott is today but they both appear to have more significant others in their lives which is as it should be. However, I always admired the fact that they seemed so very different personality wise but they were able to look past that. They plainly state it was "a lot of work" but she appeared to let Scott be Scott and they supported each other for over 20 years, from early childhood.

 

[sap5]

SFAIK Tessa grew up in a wealthy family. She also grew up in a tiny town. So it seems to me she's led rather a sheltered and privileged life. I doubt she has much awareness of the struggles that so many women face. I've never heard that she has done community outreach.

Thousands raised for London Abused Women’s Centre during virtual fundraiser - London | Globalnews.ca

The virtual fundraiser that helps LAWC provide frontline care to abused women and girls has already raised more than $51,000.

globalnews.ca

“Virtue has been a longtime supporter of [London Abused Women’s Centre] and has been quick to donate money, time, and auction items that help raise money for the centre.”