What can companies and brands do when the celebrity plugging the name turns a bad corner? What if your favorite sports performer turns out to be drug users? Take in case Justin Gatlin, the sprinter or Floyd Landis the cyclist. What about when your favorite actor who turns out to be closet racist (Mel Gibson), cocaine addict (Kate Moss)? There are many examples and there is no limit to character faults.
When associated to your brand, that character fault may turn out to be big setback. In a useful article on the subject in Wharton Knowledge, a sports-marketing consultant correctly says,
“The perils of these endorsements are consistently underestimated …it’s easy to go too fast. The excitement of the moment at the peak of someone’s celebrity tends to overwhelm any reservations about his or her character…In their haste to sign a hot athlete or celebrity, companies often overlook past incidents that may portend future problems.’
