Did These Celebs Really Sponsor Their Pregnancy Announcement?

Congrats are in order for Alexa and Carlos PenaVega, who are expecting their first child. The Spy Kids actress and her Big Time Rush rocker hubby broke the news via Twitter with a typical Hollywood baby announcement — sort of.

“Breaking news! It’s #ClearblueConfirmed a lil PenaVega is on the way!” Carlos tweeted on Thursday, adding the hashtag #Clearbluepartner. Accompanying the tweet were two photos of the couple excitedly holding a positive pregnancy stick emblazoned with the name Clearblue. Their post racked up 11K retweets and 20K likes on Twitter.

It’s not surprising that celebs turn to social media to break baby news or introduce their offspring in an effort to oversee their brands, delicately navigate satisfying public demand, and protect their privacy. The same rule applies even when a celebrity isn’t pregnant. Just ask Jennifer Aniston, whose rep condemned baby rumors after photos of the bikini-clad actress circulated on social media this week.

What is notable about the PenaVega baby news is that it was packaged as sponsored content — in this case when celebrities teamed up with a brand to promote its product on their social media page. It’s an equally advantageous deal where companies get exposure to celebrity followers and celebrities make money. These posts are usually accompanied by a hashtag like #ad or #sponsored (often legally required by the FCC). Other times, the intention of the post is murky: In 2013, while pregnant with her first child, Kim Kardashian bemoaned her “pregnancy lips” (whatever that means?) on Twitter, then added, “EOS to the rescue!” along with a shot of her applying the lip balm.

But unlike Snooki, who may or may not have taken the diet pill Zantrex-3 to help shed her baby weight, as she claimed in sponsored social media posts, it’s tough to question the sincerity of a pregnancy announcement, which celebs like Kendra Wilkinson and ex-Bachelor contestant Melissa Rycroft have also shared in sponsored posts from Clearblue.

“Celebrity sponsorships date decades, but doing them online, it is a newer phenomenon with the rise of social media,” Crystal Duncan, executive director of client services and strategy at IZEA (which facilitates relationships between brands and influencers), tells Yahoo Beauty. “If a celebrity has 7 million followers, a brand might get more exposure on her social media account than it would by running a television ad during the day.”

In the case of pregnancy announcements, it’s typically up to the celebrities to approach the brand with their baby-making plans, and these negotiations could be lengthy. One study found that 92 percent of women get pregnant after one year of trying to conceive. In the PenaVegas’ case, Clearblue clarified the longevity of the partnership by writing on its Facebook page, “Proud #LexLos trusted our clear, digital results — from during #BabyMakingDays all the way to #ClearblueConfirmed.”

Given that this baby will become Hollywood royalty, what better way to break into the biz than with a savvy social media debut?

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