Absolutely unacceptable! Flaqo deploys lawyers as payment row with brand heats up

Kenyan comedian Flaqo Raz has publicly called out smartphone brand Oppo Kenya and marketing agency Afluence over alleged non-payment for promotional content.

In a strongly worded Instagram story posted on February 5, Flaqo expressed his frustration with the brands, accusing them of failing to compensate his team for work done five months ago.

Unpaid work and broken promises

According to Flaqo, his team willingly attended Oppo Kenya’s August 2024 AI event, where they actively promoted and popularised the brand's smartphone.

The team created and published three months’ worth of content within just two weeks, working under immense pressure from both brands.

Despite delivering high-quality content as required, Flaqo revealed that five months later, they have yet to receive any payment or remuneration for their work. He termed the situation as “absolutely unacceptable” and accused both brands of failing to uphold their end of the deal.

I attended your August 2024 AI event, and gladly promoted and popularized the OPPO RENO 12 by creating both photo and video content to your liking, is absolutely disappointing & down right shameful.As a team, we created & published 3 months worth of content in two weeks due to undue pressure from BOTH your brands. For there to have been no payment or remuneration 5 months down the line is absolutely unacceptable.

Flaqo further criticised Oppo Kenya for attempting to distance itself from the dispute. He alleged that Oppo claimed to have already paid Afluence and, therefore, has nothing to do with the pending payments.

However, he pointed out that the content his team created was used to promote the brand and influence audiences on their behalf, making it unacceptable for them to avoid responsibility.

For Oppo as a brand to distance themselves from this stating they paid Aifluence and it now has nothing to do with them, when the content was to promote and Influence our audiences to consider your brand is appalling.

Afluence under scrutiny

The situation took a more alarming turn when Flaqo revealed that his team deployed lawyers to investigate Afluence, only to discover that the advertising agency may have moved from its physical address and may no longer have operational offices.

He termed this as 'absolute negligence' on Oppo’s part, arguing that the brand had a responsibility to hire a competent and trustworthy advertising agency.

Oppo had and still has a responsibility to hire a trusthworthy & competent advertising agency. For us as a team to have deployed lawyers and discover that Aifluence already moved from their physical address & may no longer have offices is absolute NEGLIGENCE on Oppos part.

Payment delays in influencer marketing

With the rise of digital marketing, brands are increasingly relying on content creators to push their products to audiences.

However, without proper contractual agreements and enforcement mechanisms, cases like Flaqo’s continue to emerge, leaving creators frustrated.

As the issue unfolds, it remains to be seen whether the brands will address the concerns raised and settle the matter amicably.