The real problem: authenticity has become a performance.

Do you remember the "Crying CEO"? In August 2022, the head of a U.S. agency laid off employees from his 15-person team and then posted a selfie of himself. Crying. On LinkedIn. His opening line: "This will be the most vulnerable thing I'll ever share."

Over 30,000 likes, around 6,000 comments, and a social media firestorm that’s still held up as a cautionary tale today. Why? Because most people realized: This isn’t really vulnerability—it’s just content.

And this trend is everywhere right now. Scripted “spontaneous” founder videos. Ads with that shaky cell phone look, meant to look like they’re from real customers but actually produced by agencies using storyboards. Planned imperfection as a stylistic device, so to speak.

Spoiler: Your audience will notice. Maybe not by the first video. But by the fifth at the latest.

Two brands that have likely never used the "A-word" demonstrate what the proof actually looks like:

Frosta. In 2003, the brand adopted its own purity code: zero additives, and every single ingredient is listed on the package. Today, that includes over 200 ingredients from 35 countries, with the country of origin listed for every single one—down to the very last peppercorn.

The price they paid was steep: prices rose, customers grew skeptical, and in 2003, Frosta posted the worst financial results in the company’s history. Nevertheless, they stuck with it. In 2013, they became the first German food manufacturer to disclose the origin of all their ingredients, and since then, they have been awarded the German Sustainability Award four times, among other honors.

And the brand thrives on a level of trust that no media budget can buy.

Lush. In November 2021, the cosmetics brand will completely pull out of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat across all 48 markets. The reason: the platforms no longer align with what the brand stands for. CEO Mark Constantine himself estimated the loss at around 10 million pounds at the time and essentially said, “I’ll take it.”

What followed: the best holiday season in two years, with a 20 percent increase in sales over the five weeks leading up to Boxing Day, and a turnaround in the 2022 fiscal year from a £45 million loss to a £29 million profit. They’ve also been delisted from X since 2023. As of early 2025: still not back.

Do you see the pattern? Both of them paid a heavy price for their convictions—in terms of revenue and reach.

True authenticity comes at a price.

My two cents: You can tell if something is genuinely authentic by the price tag.

Ask yourself this about every brand (including your own): What has our conviction ever cost us? A customer who isn’t a good fit for us? A trend we deliberately skipped? A faster, cheaper route we didn’t take?

If the answer is "nothing," then you lack authenticity. You just have an adjective on your website.

So how do you come across as truly authentic? Like this:

✅ Decide what to leave out. At Frosta, it all started with a list of things to cut: no additives—that’s it. A clear decision about what you’re no longer doing says more about your brand than ten slides of values. And it’s something you can prove.

✅ Show us behind the scenes. Give us a real look at your process, your decisions, and your pricing. And by the way, “unfiltered” really means unfiltered… if you need three takes to shoot that “spontaneous” video, you’re better off not doing it at all.

✅ Let real people speak. Your team, your customers—in their own words, not from a script. It might sound a bit rough around the edges, but rough beats polished. Every time.

✅ Address mistakes like an adult. Explain what happened, what the cost is, and what changes you’re making. No selfies, no drama.

The quickest way to test all of this: Would you do the same thing if no one were watching and no one were liking it? If yes, it’s genuine. If no, it’s just content.

And no, you don't have to delete your social media accounts or completely overhaul your business model. All it takes is a single promise that actually costs you something—and that you actually keep. Even if it gets uncomfortable... that's it.

Stay bullish 🔥 Chantalle

P.S. Want to know where your brand is making claims instead of proving its worth? Drop me a line, and I’ll take a look with you. It’s often easier to see that from the outside than from the inside. ✉️ chantalle@boredbrands.studio