Celebrity Endorsments Gone Wrong

The fact that some celebrity endorsements fall flat and get no response makes some questions whether they can really work and are really worth the tremendous costs. What are some examples of celebrity endorsements gone wrong?
Kobe Bryant, NBA basketball player, is an example of how celebrity endorsement can go wrong. According to an article in the Knowledge Wharton website, Bryant was charged with rape in 2003, the charges were dropped because he claimed the sex was consensual, but he was still exposed as an adulterer. He lost many of his endorsement deals, with McDonald’s, Upper Deck and Nutella. How could these brands be associated with a married man charged of raping a woman? Scandals like this one could tarnish a brand’s image and be detrimental to it as well. Another example is of Madonna , who was endorsing Pepsi when she made the controversial video for “Like a Prayer” (the same music featured in the ad for Pepsi) back in the Eighties. The relationship was dissolved when Christian groups all over America decided to boycott Pepsi because of its affiliation with Madonna.
Other problems that can arise are when celebrities overshadow a brand, making it hard for audiences to see what they are trying to sell or promote, defeating the purpose of the endorsement in the first place. Brand disloyalty can be another problem, recently seen when Charlize Theron, an Oscar-winning South African actress who had a million dollar deal with the watchmakers Raymond Weil, was photographed sporting a watch of another make.
Celebrity endorsers have to be meticulously planned, or else disaster can ensue. Every worse case scenario must be considered before hand and every preventative measure must be taken to make sure mishaps can be fixed or at least foreseen. Celebrity endorsement takes a lot of planning and care; without planning and care it could turn into a nightmare, if things go wrong. A brand must also make sure that the celebrity brand does not overshadow their brand, thus defeating the purpose of the celebrity endorsement. Celebrity endorsement, especially in advertising, cost millions of dollars; brand should really make sure that they are investing their money properly by thoroughly planning a celebrity endorsement.