Rihanna's Tarnished Image

The famous pop star Rihanna stepped into the world of ad endorsements when she collaborated with Totes to sell her very own umbrellas in honor of her top single sensation, "Umbrella." Rihanna's success was at an all time high, scoring deals with Gilette, Cover Girl and most impressively the fashion powerhouse, Gucci.

As seen in Emma Watson's Burberry endorsement, high fashion corporations are particularly careful when selecting the faces of their brand. In fact, it's very rare that a celebrity is used. However, Rihanna, who has tattoos herself, offered an edgy and modern image that complemented the Gucci designer's Frida Gianni's "Tattoo Heart" collection. Rihanna not only strengthened the visual component of the line, but also the conceptual idea to leave your mark, like a tattoo, on someone's heart. A portion of the line's proceeds were donated through UNICEF to children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rihanna projected an image of both strength and philanthropy which reflected well on Gucci.

However, after Rihanna's assault, the celebrity's image has been tarnished, even though almost everyone would agree that this incident was Chris Brown's fault and she should not have to suffer for his actions. However, no company has yet offer to renew their endorsement deal. This is just one example of how companies simply will not risk tarnishing their brand image. There is very low tolerance for celebrity misbehavior. Even though Rihanna continues to speak out about the abuse she faced, her reconciliation with Chris puts her in a very bad position...