Miley Cyrus: Elvis Presley twerked
Whether it is a beauty product, sneakers deal or partnership with a soda company, signing an endorsement deal is a great way for celebrities to earn big bucks. It’s also very profitable for the companies as well. According to a study published in the Journal of Advertising Research, a famous face can boost sales by 4% annually. But sometimes it happens that companies dump their endorsers. Here are some celebs who lost their endorsement deals.
UK-based hair care company GHD signed Katy Perry as a spokesperson in 2011, but dropped her after their market research showed she was losing popularity in Europe. The pop star started a legal battle with the company, which she claims continued to use her image without permission.
Sharon Stone found herself in a sticky spot after she implied that the deadly 2008 earthquake in China’s Sichuan province was a result of karma for the Chinese government’s treatment towards Tibetans and the Dalai Lama. Voicing this cost her an endorsement deal with Christian Dior who removed the actress from all Chinese advertisements.
Skin-care brand Nivea washed Rihanna right off of their endorsement roster in 2012 due to her increasingly naughty image: singing about love, smoking weed and appearing unclothed all too often. Head of Beiersdorf said: “The advert starring Rihanna was a no go. I do not understand how Nivea can be brought into association with Rihanna…Nivea is a company which stands for trust, family and reliability.”
Sometimes going too public with a divorce can really hurt the pocket and Burt Reynolds fell victim to this after all the bad press that came out of his divorce from Loni Anderson in the mid-1990s. The Florida Citrus Commission and Quaker State Motor Oil both canned Reynolds because of it. His deals allegedly summed close to $100,000.
Everyone from Jessica Simpson to Diddy has endorsed Proactiv. In 2005, Britney Spears even shot an infomercial for the skin care brand, but the ad never aired. It’s rumored the brand no longer wanted to be associated with the singer, who often showed up in the tabloids with broken out skin. Also, back in 2002 Britney was dropped from a deal with Pepsi when she was snapped sipping a Coke.
Chris Brown signed a five-year contract with Wrigley’s and was also one of the faces for the “Got Milk?” campaign, earning him millions in endorsements. However, after his hugely publicized fight with Rihanna in 2009, which ended with RiRi being physically assaulted by Brown, the entertainer lost both deals.
After a couple of rehab stints and movie flops, Lindsay Lohan was dropped from Jill Stuart in 2008. The clothing line then replaced the troubled actress with Hillary Swank.
Controversy has always been a factor in the Queen of Pop’s life and back in 1989 it caused the singer a $5 million deal with Pepsi. Her huge hit “Like A Prayer” didn’t fare well with the Catholic Church after the video for the single featured religious stigmata, burning crosses, a murder and more, so Pepsi parted ways.
Jessica most recently complicated matters when she got pregnant during her Weight Watchers campaign. Although the company didn’t drop her, they did have to alter commercials to feature her big news. She did, however, face trouble in 2006 when the Tarrant Apparel Group (who owns JS by Jessica Simpson) sued the star for not wearing their clothing lines in public.
In 2004 it came out that Mary-Kate Olsen was struggling with anorexia and had to enter treatment. Unfortunately, it was around the same time that her “Got milk?” ad with sister Ashley was running. The Milk Processor Education Program quickly pulled the ads due to “sensitivity to their current situation.”
In 2004 Whoopi Goldberg was dropped as a spokesperson for Slim-Fast after the comedian/actor called then President George W. Bush a “thug” and made sexual comments about Bush while at a John Kerry fundraiser. Goldberg responded to the incident saying, “I only wish that the Republican re-election committee would spend as much time working on the economy as they seem to be spending trying to harm my pocketbook.”
The South African Oscar-winning actress got dropped by Raymond Weil watches in 2006 and also slapped with a lawsuit of $20 million from the company. Raymond Weil’s claimed Theron breached the contract she had made with the high-end retailer by wearing other watches such as Christian Dior while she was tied to the brand. Eventually the lawsuit was settled in 2008.
Hehehehe! Not all the stars like the products of the companies they advertise as it seems. Or the rules of the endorsements are very strict. I ca understand the advertising companies paying such crazy sums of money for their product to be promoted and the celebrities not following the rules or coming u with the weird behavior that contradicts the motto of the company well, it is all about the money, money, money.