Next year we’ll reintroduce affiliate marketing but as it should be, as opposed to affiliates as they were,” said Nick Robertson, ASOS CEO. “[There’ll be] no silly commissions being paid to grubby little people in grubby studios growing income at our expense, getting in the way of genuine sales.

Yes that’s right the very people that helped grow ASOS in to a brand online are as far as they are concerned grubby little people.

grub·by (grb)
adj. grub·bi·er, grub·bi·est
1. Dirty; grimy: grubby old work clothes.
2. Infested with grubs.
3. Contemptible; despicable: has a grubby way of treating others.

Photo: ASOS Affiliate Get-together 2006*

I am guessing none of the Affiliates promoting ASOS where “Infested with grubs”, so that only leaves “Dirty; grimy: grubby old work clothes.” or “Contemptible; despicable: has a grubby way of treating others.” Now having a look at all the old posts about ASOS on the A4U Forum and knowing many of the people involved in promoting ASOS I can’t remember thinking this year I will send so and so Soap on a Rope as his Christmas present as he is a little smelly. So that leaves us with number 3. and this I guess is what Nick Robertson ASOS CEO must mean by describing Affiliates as “grubby”.

ASOS was once very well respected in the Affiliate Community taking action against spyware when it first reared its ugly head and often giving out awards for Affiliate of the year and so on. So what marks this drastic turn around in how they view Affiliates? A simple lack of understanding of the industry, they lost there best people, folk like Jess Luthi who understood Affiliates and how to get the very best out of them.

You do have to wonder how Nick Robertson can come up with remarks like this when the simple fact of the matter is Merchants are in full control of their program, they say who can and who can’t promote them, they dictate the brand name policy, and they set the commission and cookie period and so on. So if he is angry, he should be angry at himself for not taking the time and making available the resources to understand and continue to take advantage of such a hugely profitable system for promoting Merchants online.

*That’s a joke, it’s actually Friday night in Glasgow. Another joke, it’s the really funny Shaun of the Dead film, now on DVD no doubt promoted by an Affiliate some place in the world 😉