Ballerina Farm's Major Branding Pivot
The best (and worst) case scenarios for the 10 million followers of Ballerina Farm.
Hey! Caro here, with a little something special to save you from the ol’ inauguration blues. A few days ago,
reached out to see if I wanted to talk about the strange branding pivot that has taken place on the Ballerina Farm account this winter. It was a total no-brainer to say yes. Sara is the foremost expert on all things momfluencing, feminism, and tradwifery; for those interested in these topics, both her Substack and her book on momfluencing are a must.Below, we talk about Ballerina Farm’s season two location shift to Ireland; the absolute editorial dumpster fire that is the annual Evie Magazine print edition; Hannah Neeleman’s skincare tips; Daniel Neeleman’s “rizz”; the deeply unnerving American tendency to connote wealth with intelligence; and more.
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Sara: So Caro, what were your initial thoughts when you saw that the BF crew had temporarily relocated to Ireland?
Caro: Okay, at the risk of offering a bit of a left turn from what you were thinking I might say: I was kind of stoked. The reason why this account skyrocketed to fame has to do with the illusion they put forth of a hard-working family loving life on a farm with no help, no major luxuries, etc — so to see the Neelemans pivot into rich bitch influencer territory was frankly very satisfying to me. I think a user who finds their account now would be much, much clearer on who these people are (rich people) and what they are trying to do (sell you shit) than someone who stumbled onto the account five years earlier.
Sara: Ok, wow, this is an excellent point. I think I’m so BF-pilled that it didn’t even occur to me that this might be a good thing in terms of their propaganda potential. I’m still fixated on the fact that it’s so (seemingly!) easy for them to fit ANYTHING into their narrative of morally untouchable new-age pioneers even if it’s nonsensical or off-brand. So like, sure they’re doing something no [real] farmer or rancher could/would ever do (abandon the source of their livelihood for three months), but they’re doing it for the “greater good.” They’ve still somehow managed to frame the move as part of a bigger project to bring slow cooking and family values to the masses. And I feel like they’re cynically even framing this as a feminist win for Hannah. Like, look! She gets to follow her culinary dreams! Daniel’s a feminist husband king! Egg-apron be damned!
Caro: LMFAO at feminist husband king. Sara, I know you haven’t read the Evie print interview of them yet, but just FYI they claim he has “rizz” so… enjoy that. But to address your point: for sure, they will always spin the narrative to fit their Mormon good vibes bill. But think: even a year ago, these people were insisting they have no help, denying that they have any ulterior motives, and basically just cosplaying a “yassified dust bowl” aesthetic, to quote my podcast partner, Katie. This year, they took the whole family to Ireland (!), left their farm with all the animals in the first year of their dairy business for three months, and are both doing chef classes. Oh, and in the Evie print interview, Hannah tells the magazine that she and Daniel do a 90 minute workout together each morning and come back at eight or nine, at which point the kids are “getting ready for school.” So like: they have nannies. They’re rich. They’re selling you shit. It’s obvious now. It’s no longer the subtext, but the actual text. And sure, they’re going to lie about it the way all influencers do, but the nuance required to see through this is about 50x less than what it was a year ago, and that makes me happy.
Sara: Before we get into the what-the-fuck of it all re: Ireland, can you treat our readers to a choice smattering of “revelations” about Ballerina Farm from the Evie print piece? Did they LITERALLY use the word “rizz?” Like actually?!?!?!?!
Caro: Oh, Sara. They literally used the word “rizz.” For those who are super interested, Katie and I recorded a bonus ep relaying our reactions to the magazine in full, but here’s a quick little TLDR to give you a taste…
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