There are many Emily Cooper failings that have bothered fans while watching her meander around Paris: her inability to speak French, her awful multi-layered outfits, and how bad of a friend she is to Mindy and Camille.
But the most persistent irritation that has wound everyone up again and again is how on earth this woman is making a living as a social media professional.
Let’s start with season one, Emily is unbelievably inexperienced. She lands her job with just 48 Instagram followers and within hours is posting a picture of two children online without a release form from their parent or guardian. Did somebody say lawsuit?
She then takes a photo of a hamburger from the other side of the room (is she zooming in like a mum?) and snaps her celebrity client Brooklyn Clark while people are walking in and out of the frame. Unless she’s curating a blurry aesthetic we’re not chic enough to know about, that post is getting 20 likes max.
In season two of the show, Emily is still up to the same unemployable antics. She’s somehow managed to increase her following from 48 people to 27,000 (thank God). Yet, her approach to posting is still worryingly unprecise and under-researched for someone that works in the social media industry.
As Grazia’s very own head of social media has pointed out, Emily is seriously slapdash with her hashtags. On one post, she opts for #huithuitres – a loose translation of #eightoysters – and that’s the entire caption. No call to action, no question for followers to engage with. Just one solitary hashtag with only 100 other Instagram posts under it. Baffling.
Next, Emily is back playing her game of risk with the law. She thoughtlessly takes pictures of an unreleased sample, very much under embargo, which goes viral without client approval. When her post gains traction, rather than asking permission if she can share the image again, she just re-posts and hopes for the best. Not good.
Finally, when talking about the online marketing strategy for her Champagne brand ‘Champere’ (fronted by Camille’s father) she immediately refers to the campaign as ‘viral’ before it has even taken place.
By its very definition, viral denotes wide circulation on the internet: hundreds of retweets, thousands of favourites, consequent new clients and a rise in sales. What does Emily actually have? An idea in her head. That doesn’t spell success just yet.
Emily might be flying high in fictional France but in the real world she’d still be scrolling through LinkedIn with 48 followers, a hope and a prayer.
READ MORE: I'm Team Camille In Emily In Paris Season Two – Because She Has The Best Wardrobe