The sheer terror coming out of the British media this year has been really something. They thought Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were “theirs” to smear and malign. They thought the Sussexes would fail without the British establishment’s blessing. They thought they could dictate terms to Meghan and Harry once the Sussexes left for greener pastures. And now here we are, with the Sussexes building a media empire, and Meghan quietly and effortlessly supporting a brand which will make SO MUCH money. I’m talking about Meghan’s investment in Clevr Blends, the oat-milk latte company. Meghan sent a gift basket of Clevr Blends products to Oprah, and Oprah posted a video onto her Instagram where she made herself a latte.
We all knew what that meant, because here in America, we know the power of Oprah’s blessing. Oprah turns little-known books into bestsellers. Her endorsement of ANY product is a guarantee of millions in sales. So while the royal courtiers were fussing over a crown emoji (LOL), actual PR professionals were like “holy sh-t, it’s huge for Clevr Blends that Oprah did this.” Allow a British PR person to explain it to the British people who refuse to “get” it.
Oprah Winfrey’s decision to promote Meghan Markle’s new range of vegan coffee to her 19.2million Instagram followers was worth at least $1million and is probably the most valuable piece of free publicity in history, experts told MailOnline today. PR guru Mark Borkowski told MailOnline the $28-per-pack oat-milk ‘superlattes’ are the first ‘baby steps’ towards Meghan and Harry building a billion dollar brand for themselves in the US.
Ms Markle’s coffee investment is the first since she and Harry emigrated to pursue a private life and seek ‘financial independence’ from the royal family in California – but is still likely to ‘raise eyebrows’ at the palace, experts claim.
The record for an advertising Instagram post was $500,000, paid to Kim Kardashian in 2015, but Mr Borkowski said Oprah’s social media video was ‘a million buck post in free publicity’ at least. He said: ‘Having Oprah Winfrey endorse your product is the golden ticket in global advertising for any company. Oprah is also very choosy about what she promotes and for a new company to launch a new product, reaching that many people, would cost millions of dollars – and the best thing for Meghan is that in this case many people who saw it won’t feel like they are being sold something at all. Having a friend like Oprah is something money can’t buy and it will lead to the product flying off the shelves’.
Yep. Oprah doesn’t endorse any old thing, especially these days. She’s very picky about which books and products she personally endorses. Back when she had her daily talk show, she would do the Christmas giveaway episodes and random giveaway episodes, and even then, Oprah personally vetted the products because she knew the power of her endorsement. Every company would KILL for Oprah to even mention their product in an interview. Every publisher wants her to mention one of their new releases. And the fact that Meghan got Oprah to not only give a de facto endorsement, but Oprah actually showed how the product works (she mixed the latte herself and drank it), well… that’s worth MORE than a million dollars. Not to mention all of the free advertising from blogs like this, and from all of the media coverage of “raised eyebrows” in palaces and such. LOL.
Photos courtesy of Oprah’s Instagram, Avalon Red.
I’m going to try the tumeric one. I wonder if they are able to keep up with orders. Okay I ordered one of the tumeric and the frother. I’ll let you know how it tastes. I’ve always wanted to incorporate tumeric more because of inflammation. I hope I Like this.
I wanted to try the turmeric one too! But I live in the UK and while they do offer shipping to the UK, I’ll have to pay customs and VAT too.
If anyone has ordered from the UK, let me know what you had to pay (if you’ve had to pay anything by now)
I tried to order from the UK but it wouldn’t process my payment so I figured they weren’t shipping here. But now their website says they’ll be shipping internationally from January.
What if a ‘friend’ shipped it to you as a ‘gift’?
I ordered the turmeric one too yesterday as I don’t drink coffee and can’t handle caffeine. Hopefully I get it before Christmas.
Someone on Twitter keeps sharing cartoons commissioned by the Daily Fail depicting Harry and Meghan poor, destitute and begging Granny for money. They REALLY thought Harry and Meghan would fail and come crawling back.
https://twitter.com/pagantrelawney/status/1338944622266036226?s=21
@snuffles That’s hilarious because it looks exactly like the Cambridge’s Christmas card. 🤣
I am not a fan of milky lattes. However, since this is made out of oakmilk (whatever that is) and in support of female owned enterprises, I decided to ordered the coffee and turmeric. Besides, Meghan has impeccable taste. I wish she could have maintained her blog (The Tig). I loved it.
@Snuffles —- I don’t think you will get it before Christmas. I ordered the Matcha and Golden ones. I thought I was among the first but looks lije I wasn’t. I am supposed to receive them by Dec 28th; I would have liked to order more as gifts for my mother and grandmother but now, they will only arrive in January.
I am so looking forward to testing this, I might subscribe to have it deliver every month or so……I checked out the company ; it is diverse enough for me but they are still small; no wonder the commands are taking so long
I just bought the Chai and Golden one. Sadly, I’ll have to wait until January to receive them. They must be busy, busy.
The outcry over H&M making money is so odd — this is what it means to be financially independent. To work. To bring in income. Did people think that H&M would come and live in America like paupers?
Yes. They wanted the Sussexes to fail and come back crying and begging the royals to take them back. And every new deal they make is even more confirmation that it’s not going to happen.
It’s a little crazy because one of the biggest issues people have with the Royals is that they live on tax payers money.
I think part of the annoyance also comes from the fact it’s been so easy for H&M to make money, which it was always going to be. The talk of removing titles is also very silly because title or not, they’re still always going to be associated. In fairness there are lots of people who are trying to work in the areas that H&M are making millions in but H&M succeed immediatly because of their name. I said in fairness but the world isn’t fair and people need to get over that.
No, the royal reporters hoped they would fail and come crawling back to the U.K. and their senior royal roles. Then H&M would have little choice but to take the abuse on the chin and do as they are told by BP.
With every deal H&M make, they grow more and more financially independent and far less likely to need their titles at all. That is what really scares the Firm and the British media. When their brand becomes “Harry & Megan, Global Philanthropists” instead of the “Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” they will truly be free.
I’d be willing to bet money that H&M know that the Sussex title is the UK’s last card to play with them. H&M shot down the living off the tax payers cry, the Frogmore cry, and they don’t use HRH anymore. “Stripping them of their titles” is the last thread they’re hanging onto. Branding themselves as just “Meghan and Harry” is the smartest move they can make. I am hoping so badly at the pitiful 1 year review, Harry will casually declare, “Oh, that Sussex title…you can keep it.” They don’t need it. Never did.
To answer your question, yes people believed that they would be paupers in the US and after the one year review they were supposed to return to the UK begging for forgiveness from the Royal Family and the media. Harry and Meghan living in Tyler Perry’s LA home was seen as the start of their failed attempt to becoming financially independent. They were ridiculed for that by the media, not knowing that Harry and Meghan would become financially independent in a matter of months.
The outcry is about less about money and more about loss of control imo. It’s just easier to pretend money is the issue.
It’s what they were hoping for and what the media assured them time and time again would happen. They are giving her free advertisement though and she didn’t have to do much.
Just ordered the 4 latte combo. I dislike turmeric, but I take it for my joint pain. I also can’t do dairy (which is worse than not being able to imbibe adult beverages btw), so this might be a nice compromise.
I also suffered from joint pain but took Glucosamine and it made a world of difference. Talk to your doctor about whether Glucosamine might help you
I just find it funny how the royal rota and the Palace reacted to this venture. Over the top and ridiculous. They also really look down their noses at Oprah, one of the richest women in the world. But to them she’s black and self-made, so not someone to be admired or respected.
Also, we don’t KNOW that Meghan asked Oprah to do this. All we know is that Meghan invested in company and that Meghan sent Oprah a gift basket. Oprah does what Oprah wants —- and more power to her. It may just be that Oprah got the gift basket, found out Meghan had invested, did her own look see at the company, and — liking the product — gave her own shout out with a little thanks to M(👑) for gifting it to her. Until Oprah says Meghan asked her to promo it, I will believe the promo was Oprah’s own idea independent of Meghan.
Oh yeah. Oprah is one of the wealthiest people in the world, she only does what she *wants to do.* No one can make Oprah do anything lol.
Saw the clickbait headlines already, claiming Meghan was selling $28 lattes. It’s amazing how this couple is used and abused by others to make money, but when they make their own, its somehow a scandal.
‘We all knew what that meant, because here in America, we know the power of Oprah’s blessing’.
That’s the thing – in the UK, Oprah really isn’t a big deal. At best, she’s a friend of other better known celebrities. I’m not sure if her tv show has even been broadcast over here. Admittedly, I’m speaking as a white person, so she might be better known by the BAME community. But it’s not surprising that the British media have been more focused on the supposed tackiness of the endorsement rather than the significance of the endorsement. They can’t see the woods for the trees. Plus anything Meghan does, or other people do in relation to her, will be automatically shredded.
Oprah was (still is) a global icon. Her talk shows were really popular back in the day. In fact she was the first, and only, talk show host I knew of back then. I tend to think the British media talks down the achievements of people of colour. She was likely a competitor to other British talkshows as well.
I in no way mean to denigrate Oprah’s achievements or her status, I’m just speaking as someone who genuinely doesn’t remember Oprah being broadcast on British tv, or receiving much attention in the UK press at all, and that may well be because she is a person of colour and wasn’t/hasn’t been promoted over here the way that Jerry Springer or Ricki Lake were (and both of them have been all but forgotten at this point). It’s one thing today with the international reach of social media, but in the 80s, 90s, or even 00s, you were reliant on something being broadcast on one of the UK’s four, later five, tv channels in a prime timeslot.
I would probably liken it to attitudes towards people of colour. The British media probably were less inclined to broadcast her talk show, even if she was infinitely better than someone like Jerry Springer or more popular than Ricki Lake. We had the one channel ourselves and I looked forward to her shows in the 90s and the 00s. She was lovely and had a compassionate voice and a lot of the episodes were really touching. It’s so insane for me to wrap myself around how she is possibly viewed in the Uk, as she had such a god-like status back then.
Same, Myra. I watched her shows back then too and wish she still had her daily talk show.
I’ve heard plenty of British media talk about Oprah so she is very well known there. The British media know exactly the value of her endorsement and if she did the same with Charles’s clothing line or the queen’s gin they would be beside themselves with glee.
To be fair before the Internet became a household necessity, Oprah was pretty unknown outside the US. I know that’s hard to believe for Americans but having spent a lot of summers in France, my relatives had no idea who she was for most of my childhood. Her show as far as I know has never aired in France. Why would it? It wasn’t until social media and streaming emerged that she became better known and I think most people know who she is, but maybe don’t realize how influential her TV show was in the States.
I love how they keep calling it Meghan’s lattes. Isn’t she just an investor? Did she join the board without anyone knowing? Did the definition of investor change in the last few days?
UK media are morons. They should worry about the fact that their country, the “mighty empire”, now needs UNICEF to feed their children‼️‼️‼️‼️
I wouldn’t be surprised if Meg announces her return to the UN next year as global ambassador. Harry might even get chosen too for his commitment to children’s well-being. And if that happens, they’ll be visiting the UK as UN reps… please Karma gods, make this happen🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
I wouldn’t be surprise me either if Meghan returned to UN Women next year.
Both Meghan and Harry would be great UN ambassadors. Much as they would have been in the role both the Queen and Charles wanted them to take on with the Commomwealth…..that is until the Cambridge’s got their knickers in a twist.
Willnot and Cannot’s rage would be visible from space if they both became UN ambassadors. I think it would be awesome, because each is so suited to the role, and Megs has already been there/done that.
It would be more proof of their standing on the world stage as a force of soft power to be reckoned with, and BRF would have zero control over it, and would only look utterly horrible if they complained about it publicly.
So of course they will probably complain about it publicly, through their proxies, because abusive toxic families have only one gear.
They’re upset because this endorsement from Oprah is more valuable than the queen’s blessing. Everyone is saying the queen’s opinions mean something, but do they really? The queens words and support literally mean nothing, with her protecting alleged pedophiles and what not. Oprah actually has scruples and vets what she supports, therefore making HER blessing more precious. It also says that Oprah will be ride or die for the Sussexes; she doesn’t just drop good friends all willy nilly unlike the royals. In the view of the BM/RF H&M cannot make connections of their own because they’ll really not need the royals for anything and that makes them incandescent.
I like Oprah and all, but let’s not pretend that she didn’t unleash a wave of pseudo science with her totally unvetted endorsements of quacks like Dr. Oz.
Oprah is not a saint of not and believing in pseudoscience didn’t start with her. She’s made some mistakes but overall she is a good person. With that being said, her power is undeniable. Her words mean something and she is a good friend, ally, and mentor.
Well isn’t taking turmeric part of that “pseudo science “ ? And as for Dr. Oz, he was one of the first medical people I heard talking about the importance of Vitamin D which is now pretty mainstream. I’m not saying everything he says is above board and I was pretty shocked to hear he has a show on NewsMax or somehow is affiliated with them? That is disappointing. But Oprah is responsible for putting many companies on the map so you can’t discount everything she does.
MsIam: oh, gosh, no. The importance of Vitamin D was known at least as early as early 20th century when it started being added to milk in order to prevent rickets.
@Betsy, you’re 100% right about Oprah’s promotion of pseudoscience, but respectfully, that actually advances the point that others are making rather than detracts from it. She has enormous amounts of influence. Enough that her promotion of dangerous quackery actually made a significant impact in growing the anti-science, anti-intellectual side crowd in a big way, by giving the shillers a platform they did not need. That is the power of the Oprah endorsement. She hasn’t always used it for good, but that’s not the point. The point is that she *has* it, and it comes through.
Yup, it was a HUGE deal. Someone said yesterday that the reason they are drawn to products or charities that Meghan likes is because they know Meghan does her research. And we know Oprah does too. Meghan didn’t just send Oprah a random package that Oprah decided to open on IG. Meghan mentioned her new business investment to Oprah, Oprah was intrigued, she tried it, and then they came up with this to promote it. Oprah may have invested in it as well, who knows?
And I think that’s what’s driving so many people up the wall. They want to think that Meghan is just sending random boxes of lattes all over California, but she’s not. She clearly has a relationship with her neighbor (lol), and Oprah agreed to support this product in this way. Who wouldn’t want to have Oprah in her corner??
Also, by doing this, she is sending a very strong message to the American press, IMO. don’t come for Meghan the way the British press did, because I have her back.
None of this is rocket science. It’s the worst kind of abuse. They wanted the suxesses to leave and not suck off the tit but also not make money as it’s ‘unseemly’ even though every royal does including petty. They want them to fail and any success is trauma. It’s the worst abuse ever. It’s not llogical and never will be. Bloody horrible abuse.. And the spin is disgusting. I literally hope these sp called reporters die long slow deaths. They support mental and physical abuse and worse. I hate them
How does Oprah only have 19 million followers though,is it because her demographic are not into social media as much. I never understand Selenas Gomez huge following when her music is a fail and she is not exactly Jennifer Lawrence.
Honestly, I didn’t realize Oprah had Instagram until this, lol. So now I follow her. I do think her base audience is probably a little older and IG may not be as big a deal.
ETA and also IG is not as important for Oprah, she can just all up the Today show or whatever and be like “I want a spot to promote some products” and they’ll say okay, when, lol.
I am quite surprised that the daily mail of all people saw the value of the endorsement for the brand and didn’t follow the same idiotic outrage over a crown emoji or calling it tacky like the other tabloids.
For once they seemed actually smart and strategic. Normally these tabloids (and by extension the RF) are shortsighted, reactionary and painfully dumb, which is why the Sussexes keep outsmarting them.
I think the Fail may have faced the fact that they need Harry and Meghan more than Harry and Meghan need them. The BM is trying to force the Sussexes to talk to them because they’re recycling US news. I’m so glad they’re getting their comeuppance
Thank you Celebitchy for another post on this topic! I honestly could not love it more. I’m so happy that M&H are making money, not on his ‘royal-ness’ but on her insight and savvy to invest in a local, female-owned start-up! Brilliant.
@Watson Ha! You’re right! I didn’t peep that. 😂
I love everything about this story.
One of the most interesting things that has been revealed in the wake of the Sussexes’ exit from The Firm is how little a large chunk of the British Tabloid Press and the Courtiers who leak to them know about business. Remember when they claimed that H&M no longer being HRH and using SussexRoyal meant they’d be destitute? Remember when they claimed H&M would have to talk about the royals constantly to get anyone to hear them to speak for $ or free? Remember how they somehow heard they Sussexes started a production company and somehow thought they were doing a reality series?
Now we’ve got these idiots somehow thinking Meghan investing in a small oat milk business means she will be on tv doing infomercials trying to get people to buy it. Like do they not understand what Venture Capitalism is? They invest $ and offer advice and a higher profile for the companies but they don’t become the face of the company. Its not a freaking endorsement deal(which would be a much quicker get rich scheme where she could easly pull 8 figures up front). Look at other celebs like Serena, Oprah, and Ashton Kutcher who have made similar investments; theyre not doing freaking informercials for these companies.
Also: sending something that you are invested to a famous pal for lowkey free promo is very common. Beyonce did this with Ivy Park and Meghan herself did this herself with the Together Cookbook which led to Serena and others instagramming about it. Meghan also has a habit of wearing clothes and accessories made by her friends so it’s all mutual.
The whole thing is crazy because isn’t one of the royal family’s “responsibilities “ is to promote British fashion and products? Wasn’t that one of the justifications for the ridiculous cost of Kate’s wardrobe? How is that any different from being a brand ambassador? Which by the way is what Eugenie’s husband does, what Zara does and I swear Edo does the same thing because every article I’ve read about him is full of brands that he uses it likes. You can’t tell me he doesn’t get something for all of those “mentions” he might as well be a YouTuber. So this handwringing about Meghan being “too commercial” is just BS. Just go ahead and say it’s wrong for the biracial woman to do as others have done.
Ok, so British press was mad that they were living on taxpayers dollars. Mad that they would get any money after stepping down.
Now that they’re making money to support themselves, the British media is mad about that too? How on earth are they supposed to be independent if they don’t work??
I think the answer to your question is in your answer. The British press are MAD – period – when it comes to the Sussexes.
Oprah’s presidential endorsement in 2008 helped shape the future of our nation. She understands her influence and uses it carefully.
Those _____________________________________ actually thought that they would come over here, escaping that tragically toxic environment and we would let them fail!?!
Stay mad.
Do you know how much free shit Oprah gets? I charge $200-300 per Instagram post, and I’m inundated with boxes of useless shit. Oprah probably gets *barges* of free crap.
What annoys the RR and KP is that Oprah did this because SHE WANTED TO. After all, Prince Harry/Gayle King are cool! Oprah went to their wedding! It’s almost as if it’s an ongoing mutually beneficial collab between public figures. Also the fact that Serena inspired Meghan to invest, my heart 😭💚💚💚
Mia – Just curious, how is it that you’re able to charge for instagram posts?
Who needs Britian when you’ve got Oprah on your side.
It’s no joke, though. That woman is very powerful in the court of public opinion.
I so kinda get the vibe from Oprah, “f*ck you all, I’m on her (M👑)’s side so 🖕 have a latte” Happy Holidays🤣🎉🎊 I ordered for myself and friends. The power😃
Maybe I’m an awful person, but the fact that Oprah has given us Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz really makes me question anyone or anything she endorses that is even vaguely health/wellness related. While she obviously has a much bigger work ethic than Gwyneth Paltrow, I see a LOT of similarities between Oprah and GOOP. I really love Meghan and I kind of wish she would NOT exploit/cultivate this friendship.
Don’t forget Harry’s been working on a project with Oprah on Apple. If I had to guess I would say he introduced Meghan to her. I’ve heard many big names say they’ve known him for years. People sleep on Harry and being a royal is a disadvantage to him. He’s got to prove that he’s more than a title because all royals are expected to be idiots. Between Invictus, Sentabale, the work with the military, and from what I’ve been hearing about Travalyst people are going to be in for a real awakening
My stealthy couple-I am so happy they are getting their business venues together-These Brits especially from the so called aristocratic set-have things given to them-they don’t work or create for themselves-this what Meghan and Harry are doing-creating business venues for themselves and others in their orbit-You would think the complaining Brits would be happy they don’t have to take care of the Sussexes-but that’s losing power over them which they cannot stand-when someone writes about all the nasty and racist things since Meghan came into Harry’s life-NOONE IN THEIR RIGHT SANE MIND WOULD BLAME THE SUSSEXES-The research is coming like a ton of bricks-The coutiers at these palaces are white and have never had to do what a poc told them to do-they resented it-Iam rambling today-Best of luck to the Sussexes.
I’m excited to try it. I ordered the kit with the mug, so it won’t ship until January, but I’ll excited to try all the flavors. As much as I liked the Hubb cookbook, I’m willing to take a chance on something else Meghan endorses.
I still maintain my somewhat ridiculous idea that the reason why Britain, particularly the British tabloid press, and segments of the British aristocracy including the monarchy, are so upset about the Sussexes decamping to America, or even the fact that Meghan is an American at all, is because they are actually still stuck on the fact that the American Revolution happened at all, and that the most powerful country in the world today got its start by dumping their a**crack of a monarchy on their, well, ass, and that instead of failing, and falling apart, America thrived, and overtook Britain to be the world’s #1 asshole (sorry, I love you Americans, but yeah), a spot the British upper crust desperately seeks to return to, but knows it can’t, because those days are over.
So much of the way Meghan gets treated not only has to do with her biracial background, or the fact that she is a black woman. I really don’t think the British press and British society, in general, really got over the fact that well, America kind of outstripped them in any capacity at all. Because America got its start by very firmly rejecting Britain, particularly its monarchy. And much like Meghan and Harry, the expectation at the time was that America would fall apart soon after the revolution, come back to Mother Britain, hat in hand, begging for handouts, which Britain would provide after much ado and out of the magnanimous goodness of its heart.
But that never happened. And much like that, Meghan and Harry will never go back either. But then, that begs the question–why the fuck should Britain have a monarchy at all? And why should British citizens pay for it? If Harry can make his own money, and make bundles of it, why should the British people pay for a monarchy then? Why can’t Will and Kate, and the Queen and Philip, Charles and Camilla etc, sign deals with Spotify and Netflix and turn off the govt spigot? If the only reason that they can’t is because, “The monarchy can’t be commercialized,” well ok, but the British tax payer is paying how many millions of pounds for the privilege of having a non-commercialized, perfectly spotless monarchy then? And is it worth it to pay that price tag for that one thing alone?