Tiger In Trouble

Tiger Woods at a game with daughter and wife, Elin.

Tiger Woods is probably the most powerful athlete celebrity endorser and his image has worked effectively in ads up until this point, except perhaps his mismatched endorsement for Buick. Nike alone used Woods to create Nike Golf, one of the fastest growing brands in the industry and manufacturing golf balls that Tiger Woods himself used in the U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship (Belch 175). Now, Tiger Woods is at risk for losing his lucrative endorsements due to the exposure of his affair. After a car accident last week, the media delved into Tiger's life, which led to his ultimate confession of an affair, which is backed up with the evidence of over 300 text messages between him and his mistress. According to PR experts:

Woods sponsorship and endorsement deals include Gatorade, Accenture, AT&T, EA Sports, Gillette, Nike and NetJets. Thus far Woods’ sponsors have not commented on his status with them. However, Bank of America said it will continue its talks about taking on a broader role with the Tiger Woods Foundation.

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...

Blonde Ads Gone Wrong

Each of these blondes: Paris Hilton for Carl's Jr. hamburgers, Jessica Simpson for Pizza Hut and Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen represent various flaws in celebrity endorsements. Paris Hilton was at the height of her popularity when this infamous Carl's Jr. advertisement was shot. In the highly controversial ad, Paris is donning a revealing bikini, while soaked in suds. While many stopped to watch Paris wash the car in the ad, it is clear that the ad has nothing to do with burgers, except that she bites right into one. While Paris Hilton guaranteed ensured attention, putting Carl's Jr. into the spotlight, this endorsement tactic was more damaging that beneficial. In fact, Carl's Jr. has become the burger brand that flashes nearly naked girls to sell their food. The vampire effect, where the star overshadows the brand, continues with Audrina Patridge of the MTV hit, The Hills, who has become Carl's Jr. next celebrity endorser.

Paris Hilton for Carl's Jr. Hamburger

Audrina Patridge for Carl's Jr.

Multi-brand endorsement also causes the celebrity to lose credibility. At the time, Hilton was also featured in ads for Guess/Marciano and Rich Prosecco Italian wine. She was also the face for her clothing, perfume and jewelry line, her own club and her television shows. This conveys a completely different strategy from A-list stars like Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt or Harrison Ford, who rarely appear in ads, but when they do are effective. The limited use of celebrity faces within one or a few brands will ensure credibility.

Paris Hilton, GUESS

Secondly, Pizza Hut's choice of Jessica Simpson did not seem right at all. One of the reasons that companies seek to launch celebrity ad campaigns simply because they lack creative ideas. Not only is it highly unlikely that the celebrity consumed pizza from Pizza Hut, but there is nothing about Jessica that would logically link her to the food chain.

Jessica Simpson for Pizza Hut

Lastly, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen clearly tarnished the effectiveness of the Got Milk? campaign, when Mary Kate was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. While attempting to promote an image of health and wellness with the regular consumption of calcium, Mary Kate's illness undermined the meaning of the ad campaign. This is one of the liabilities of celebrity endorsements, when the celebrity's reputation is damaged after the ad campaign is launched.

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen for Got Milk?

Burberry Finds A Brit: Emma Watson

It seems as though Burberry has made the right choice with Emma Watson. A few months ago, Watson was selected as the new face of the traditional British company and their celebrity choice is more than fitting. The 19-year old Harry Potter star will be modeling trenches, scarves and handbags for Burberry's Fall line. In this ad campaign, Watson will step into the shoes of iconic models, like Kate Moss.

First, Emma's appeal lies in the fact that she's actually British. The ad is authentic because Emma Watson is connected to the traditional roots of the Burberry company. "Having known and admired the lovely Emma Watson for quite some time, she was the obvious choice for this campaign who like the images she fronts, has a classic beauty a great character and a modern edge," Burberry's creative director, Christopher Bailey, said in a press release, adding that Emma gives the ads a "true British attitude." In fact, due to the fact that Burberry has cast Watson, the ad campaign also embraces the classic British setting, shooting near Big Ben and Westminster.

Secondly, Watson is a credible Burberry customer, often seen wearing Burberry clothes or sandals on the red carpet. Due to the fact that Watson possesses a solid reputation as a company consumer, she has earned the trust of other potential buyers. It is evident that although Emma is rather famous actress herself that this was not the primary reason she was selected. She actually wears Burberry. In the official Burberry video, Emma further establishes the notion of tradition and consumer credibility when she states that her grandmother has been wearing the brand since she got married.

Emma has also established herself as a fashion icon, donning Chanel and Alexander McQueen on the red carpet. In fact, she starred in a twenty page fashion feature in Vogue Italy. She has also been seen at New York and Paris fashion shows. If not a fan of Burberry, Emma is indeed a fashion conscious celebrity. Emma has also started her own ethically responsible fashion line called People Tree. The clothes are not only made of organic and fairly traded cotton, but enable economically disadvantaged individuals from Bangladesh, India and Nepal to work. The production of the clothing line helps alleviate poverty in marginalized countries.

Emma Watson's fashion label, People Tree

Lastly, Emma Watson possesses star power in her own right as the leading actress of the famous Harry Potter series. The next film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which is going to be released next summer, has not only kept Watson in the limelight throughout the years, but permits Burberry to target an adolescent audience.

This celebrity endorsement is successful because it equally harnesses her star power, while leveraging the trustworthiness factor, since she is British and an active consumer of the brand, as well as of high fashion.

Destroying Brand Image

This week, I saw a short article announcing that Kanye West's tour "Fame Kills" with Lady Gaga has been cancelled. Kanye West has been under the microscope since he stole the spotlight from Taylor Swift during the MTV Video Music Awards. This is just one example of how celebrities can ruin their chances at scoring endorsement deals.

Even though consumers generally hold preconceived notions about celebrity endorsers, stars aren't invincible in their position of power. If a celebrity has even one incident of inappropriate or questionable behavior, a company will quickly drop an endorser. If the cancellation of Kanye's concert is any indication of his popularity with the people, then a corporation would never renew an endorsement deal.

At the current moment, I don't think that Kanye is signed with any companies, though he does have his own line, Louis Vuitton Don sneakers. Though the line is new and fashionable, recently released in June 2009, consumers would probably not buy if they knew that Kanye West designed them. Clearly, the reputation and character of the star is everything and thus the element that makes celebrity endorsement such a corporate liability.

Choosing the Celebrity Endorser

Advertisements are everywhere we turn, either in print, on billboards and in magazines or in the form of television commercials. The power of many of these advertisements come from ad endorsements. Even though a celebrity will naturally capture attention, companies select their endorsers much more carefully than we might expect.

For example, companies don't just select a television or movie star who has recently been in the spotlight, but an individual who carefully represents the company's brand. For example, Target refused to have Anna Sui's new clothing line worn on the set of Gossip Girl, despite the fact that the show inspired the collection in the first place. An Anna Sui advertisement recently publicized the new clothing line at Target based on each of the Gossip Girl characters. This television ad ran during the break of the actual Gossip Girl show, which airs Mondays at 9PM.

Anna Sui clothing line available at Target loosely

based on the distinct styles of each female character

on the television hit, Gossip Girl.

Despite this original plan for Anna Sui's clothing line to be featured on the show, the designer was not able to send her clothes to the set of Gossip Girl for the young female stars to actually wear.

Leighton Meester and Blake Lively, who star on Gossip Girl.

Executives at Target feared that their company would be "too closely associated with the show." This is clearly a disclaimer of sorts for each of the star's debased television personas. With themes of debauchery, drunkenness and sexually promiscuous behavior, Target refused to have the stars of the show concretely associated with the clothing line, despite the fact that the inspiration had been drawn from the celebrity cast itself.

This is one example of how companies not only seek to make a profit from celebrity images, but the celebrity selection is under close and careful inspection. Similarly, supermodel Kate Moss originally had a contract with Burberry and Chanel, but cancelled the deal because of her use of cocaine. More recently, due to her outburst at the U.S. Open could have cost Serena Williams two of her largest sponsors, Nike and Kraft Foods.

Just as companies seek to eliminate stars with tarnished images, they also harness the positive energy and reputations of others. Based on an ad I recently saw in a fashion magazine, Walmart and L.E.I. Jeans did not only select Taylor Swift because she is popular teen star at the moment, but because she is considered one of the more upstanding young female stars. The ad depicts a photo of her onstage, with the words in white print across the center: "Life Energy Intelligence Taylor Swift." The lack of punctuation not only makes these three qualities synonymous with Taylor, but then attaches these qualities to creating an all-American image for both the classic jeans and the Walmart store.

All of these examples suggest that companies are very much aware of the reputations and images of the celebrities that they hire.

The bottom line is celebrity endorsers can drive the success of an ad campaign, but choosing the wrong celebrity becomes risky business...