Popular self-improvement creator and vlogger Ayush Sharma, known to millions by his digital alias Chadtag, recently shared his frustrations regarding the current state of influencer marketing in India.
Sharma revealed that he cancelled a recent brand collaboration because the company insisted on a rigid script that lacked genuine emotion and did not align with his signature communication style.
He argued that when brands force creators to follow a word-for-word script, it destroys the heart-to-heart connection that influencers build with their audience over years of consistent content.
The creator explained that many brand managers lack a background in actual content creation and often treat influencers like traditional advertising billboards rather than creative partners.
Sharma noted that these managers frequently demand revisions that contradict their own initial instructions, such as asking for a specific “creator style” while simultaneously prohibiting any deviation from a pre-written text.
This friction led him to leave a professional group chat and forfeit a payment of approximately ₹25,000 for a single Instagram Reel.
In the influencer marketing industry, creators often face pressure to hide the commercial nature of their content to make it appear organic. Sharma criticised the practice of brands asking creators not to use the paid partnership tag, which is a legal and ethical requirement used to label sponsored content.
He praised his long-term partner, the supplement brand Naturaltein, for providing him with total creative freedom, noting that the brand trusts him to speak in his own voice without requiring pre-approval for every mention in his daily vlogs.
Ayush Sharma, whose primary channel Chadtag has over 5.4 lakh subscribers, is a leading figure in the Indian “looksmaxxing” (the process of maximising one’s physical appearance) and self-growth niche.
With over 1,300 videos, he has built a massive library of content ranging from grooming advice to mindset coaching. He remains committed to a daily vlogging schedule on his secondary channel, aiming for a small but consistent improvement in storytelling with every new upload while maintaining his reputation for blunt and honest advice.
