Content creators drop the ball

内容创作者“掉链子”

Recent US Open shenanigans and YouTubers’ disastrous golf ad show a risky relationship between brands and influencers. 近期美国网球公开赛（US Open）上的闹剧以及 YouTube 博主灾难性的高尔夫广告，揭示了品牌与网红之间充满风险的关系。

During Naomi Osaka’s match against Anastasia Zakharova at this year’s US Open earlier this week, a gaggle of ring light-wielding influencers who were packed in a luxury suite became enough of a distraction that the umpire paused the match and repeatedly asked them to quiet down. Elsewhere in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, other creators could be seen asking US Open staffers to take full-flash photos of them while Osaka and Zakharova were playing. 在本周早些时候的美国网球公开赛上，在大坂直美对阵安娜斯塔西亚·扎哈罗娃的比赛期间，一群挤在豪华包厢里、手持环形补光灯的网红造成了严重的干扰，以至于裁判不得不暂停比赛，并多次要求他们保持安静。在比利·简·金国家网球中心的其他地方，还能看到其他创作者要求美网工作人员在比赛进行时为他们拍摄闪光灯照片。

Last month, United States Tennis Association (USTA) media operations director Jeanmarie Daly said that the US Open was “almost doubling” the number of content creators it was approving for credentials. There were “close to 100” influencers at this year’s tournament — up from 54 last year. But in a statement to ABC News, USTA spokesperson Brendan McIntyre emphasized that the influencers whose antics disrupted Osaka and Zakharova’s match were not credentialed by the organization. 上个月，美国网球协会（USTA）媒体运营总监珍妮玛丽·戴利表示，美网批准的创作者证件数量“几乎翻了一番”。今年锦标赛现场有“近 100 名”网红，而去年为 54 名。但在给美国广播公司新闻部（ABC News）的一份声明中，USTA 发言人布伦丹·麦金泰尔强调，那些干扰了大坂直美和扎哈罗娃比赛的网红并未获得该组织的官方认证。

McIntyre also told The Athletic that media credentials were not given to Meg Radice and Audrey Jongens — two lifestyle influencers whose access to the US Open was revoked after they posted images of their badges to Instagram. According to McIntyre, Radice and Jongens “were improperly submitted for credentials on a staff list provided by a food vendor,” and seems like the creators might have screwed themselves over by flexing for their followers. 麦金泰尔还告诉《The Athletic》，梅格·拉迪斯和奥黛丽·琼根这两位生活方式网红并未获得媒体证件——她们在将证件照片发布到 Instagram 后，进入美网的权限被撤销。据麦金泰尔称，拉迪斯和琼根是“通过食品供应商提供的员工名单被违规提交申请证件的”，看起来这些创作者为了向粉丝炫耀，反而害了自己。

Though those creators weren’t exactly practicing proper US Open etiquette, they were doing their jobs (read: making content) with the single-minded focus that often makes their presence an annoyance to the people around them. These influencers were at the US Open to share the experience with their followers, and regardless of whether they were invited by the USTA directly or not, they were helping the organization advertise the event to an audience that might not have otherwise been paying attention. 尽管这些创作者并没有遵守美网的礼仪，但他们确实是在以一种“一心一意”的态度完成工作（即制作内容），而这种专注往往会让周围的人感到厌烦。这些网红来到美网是为了与粉丝分享体验，无论他们是否直接受 USTA 邀请，他们都在帮助该组织向那些原本可能不会关注赛事的受众推广活动。

Influencers have become an integral part of the advertising industry, with US creator ad spend hitting $37 billion in 2025 and being projected to reach $44 billion by the end of this year. Companies are increasingly relying on content creators to market their products, but what happened at the US Open is a snapshot of how that reliance can lead to undesirable outcomes for everyone involved. Videos of the US Open disruptions have gone viral across social media and sparked a conversation about whether influencers are the best people to invite to exclusive functions. 网红已成为广告业不可或缺的一部分，2025 年美国创作者广告支出达到 370 亿美元，预计到今年年底将达到 440 亿美元。企业越来越依赖内容创作者来营销产品，但美网发生的事件是一个缩影，展示了这种依赖如何导致各方都不愿看到的结果。美网干扰事件的视频在社交媒体上疯传，并引发了关于网红是否是受邀参加高端活动的最佳人选的讨论。

But the point many people seem to be glossing over is that influencers are usually only invited to events like the US Open, awards shows, and film premieres because a brand decided it was worth bringing them there. As irksome as creators can be when they take up too much public space, that kind of behavior is something the companies that hire them have to anticipate. And as reporter Jessica Schiffer notes, some brands have been scrambling to get ahead of any potential blowback by sending out “helpful reminders” on tennis etiquette. 但许多人似乎忽略了一点：网红通常只有在品牌认为值得邀请的情况下，才会受邀参加美网、颁奖典礼和电影首映式等活动。尽管创作者占用过多公共空间的行为令人恼火，但雇佣他们的公司必须预见到这种行为。正如记者杰西卡·希弗所指出的，一些品牌为了应对潜在的负面影响，已经开始忙于发送关于网球礼仪的“温馨提示”。

Before a rule change in 2024, the US Open was actually much more strict about requiring attendees to stay in their seats until breaks during the match when players switch sides of the court. Now attendees can get up whenever they want, and the event features designated spaces close to the tennis courts where people can move freely — something tournament director Stacey Allaster described as “an important addition to the fan experience at the US Open.” The influencers at this year’s US Open might not have technically been breaking any rules, but they were having a negative impact on other attendees’ viewing experience. 在 2024 年规则修改之前，美网对观众的要求要严格得多，要求他们在比赛期间必须留在座位上，直到球员换边休息时才能走动。现在观众可以随时起身，赛事还在靠近球场的地方设置了指定区域，供人们自由活动——赛事总监斯泰西·阿拉斯特称这是“美网粉丝体验的重要补充”。今年美网的网红们在技术上可能没有违反任何规则，但他们确实对其他观众的观赛体验产生了负面影响。

Taking selfies and shooting videos are core elements of the content creation hustle, but brands working with influencers should have made clear that, during a tennis tournament, there are times when it’s best to just watch the matches. While the content creators might have been having fun, many of the people around them weren’t able to enjoy the match in peace. That kind of main character energy often is exactly what companies want because it’s what keeps influencers’ fans engaged. But brands have to understand that simply letting creators run wild isn’t always the best plan of action. 自拍和拍摄视频是内容创作的核心，但与网红合作的品牌应该明确一点：在网球比赛期间，有些时候最好只是静静地观看比赛。虽然内容创作者可能玩得很开心，但周围的许多人却无法安宁地享受比赛。这种“主角光环”往往正是公司所追求的，因为它能保持网红粉丝的参与度。但品牌必须明白，任由创作者肆意妄为并不总是最佳方案。

Callaway Golf Company learned this the hard way last month after an ad produced by YouTube channel-turned-sports apparel company Good Good hit the internet and immediately sparked outrage. The video — a spoof of Curry Barker’s Obsession — features Good Good cofounder Garrett Clark grinning maniacally after shoving professional golfer Alexis Miestowski to the ground when she reaches for his Callaway-branded driver. Many saw the ad as being distasteful and making light of violence against women, which prompted Callaway to issue an apology and sever ties with Good Good. 卡拉威高尔夫公司（Callaway Golf Company）上个月惨痛地学到了这一教训。由 YouTube 频道转型为运动服装公司的 Good Good 制作的一则广告在网上发布后，立即引发了众怒。该视频是对 Curry Barker 的《Obsession》的恶搞，视频中 Good Good 的联合创始人加勒特·克拉克在职业高尔夫球手亚历克西斯·米斯托夫斯基伸手去拿他的卡拉威品牌球杆时，将她推倒在地，并露出疯狂的笑容。许多人认为这则广告品味低俗，且轻视了针对女性的暴力行为，这促使卡拉威发表道歉声明并切断了与 Good Good 的合作关系。