So Much for the Endorsement Deals...

Turns out Michael Phelps isn't as clean cut as a lot of companies thought.  Will be interesting to see how his sponsors react to this photo.

This is the United States, where the majority of celebrities can get a second chance, simply by crying on Oprah's couch, but with the economy the way it is, will that be good enough for corporate sponsors, who may be looking for a way to cut expenses?

Learn from this.  A situation like this isn't just limited to people with endorsements, it can just as easily affect musicians who have licensed music for corporate advertising.

I'm not making a judgment call about getting completely loaded on booze and smoking marijuana at a college party, by the way.  Whatever works for you...  But don't bitch when the sponsors you've done deals with, who all have a clause in their contracts prohibiting this kind of behavior, get pissed and pull out.

To end on a good note, the good news for Michael Phelps is that he's just opened up a new segment of sponsors. Zig Zag rolling papers, that guy on the corner selling nickel bags, Cypress Hill...

Thoughts?

Comments

[Swamp Water Films]

It's best to always be responsible and monitor your own behavior.

Instead of getting into mischief, celebrities, artists and bands should be thinking of new ways to help President Obama to "Spread The Wealth".

CEO
Swamp Water Films
http://www.SpreadTheWealthUSA.info

[Darrell Shelley]

of course this depends on the type of music you are playing!

I mean if MOTLEY CREW didn't have a rep for chasing dirty tail all over the place and doing drugs, they wouldn't have seemed as bad ass or sold as many records...or if Keith Richards was a Vegan Christian Virgin...the stones would have not been able to hold a candle to the Beatles!

That being said...if Yanni was caught making Porno (ie Tommy Lee style) or Riahnna was seen snorting lines...it would hurt their record sales...

But who do you wanna be? A corporate radio sell out celeb who lets paparazzi follow your every move? Or a real musician?

If you make good music....people will buy it...look at Any Winehouse...the more she gets arrested the better her sales!

Rock n Roll is about doing the things that regular people can't! It's about challenging society...rebelling...Its about living on the edge! So is hip hop and other real genres of music...and if we ever loose that, there will be no room left for creativity of any kind!

So whatever it is, do it till it feels right! and say "F U" to the rest!

[David Hooper]

Interesting points.

One of the things that usually comes with a far right administration, such as Bush's, is a backlash via rock music. Instead, we ended up with Jessica Simpson, Miley Cyrus, and all things Disney.

About challenging society and doing things regular people can't...

Rebellion isn't about doing drugs and I think Amy Winehouse is a great anti-drug ad. Would anybody really want to trade places with her? From what I can tell, it's not like she's enjoying her success.

The only thing more sad that Amy Winehouse is that the industry puts up with her in the name of record sales. You'd think we'd learn something from Kurt Cobain and all the others before her. With that said though, you can't help people who don't want to be helped.

[Damian Sol]

I definitely think it's worth being extra-clean to achieve and keep a certain level of success. It may not feel fair to the person who's expected to maintain an unrealistic level (or appearance) of purity, but that level of support for one's business will be sorely missed once it's gone. And, once you've lost trust like that from major business players, you can face a much more uphill climb to regain that trust and level of support.

Bottom line -- if someone was going to give me millions of dollars to keep squeaky clean, I think I would work hard to keep that promise.

[Michael Annotti]

Personally I feel that if someone is going to be in the public eye, they know that there are haters who will put their private pictures up to make a buck, and must be very aware of their actions in all public and private occasions, when they're not alone. No wonder why fame can drive some people nuts from the isolation and constant pressure of being under the microscope of the entire world.

[David Hooper]

Seriously. How difficult is it to say no? You'd think with that much money on the line, the guy could wait until he got home.

And if you're going to get caught, at least don't send out a candyass apology. Say, "Yeah, I smoke weed. Deal with it." Then either give up the endorsement or work it out.

Personally, I don't care that he's smoking weed. His choice. He should be bitch-slapped for trying to walk the fence though. It's obvious the guy knew what he was doing.

[Dan Acosta]

No matter how clean your image is, it's not what you do now that counts anymore. It's your PAST that's always held against you, and this is a great example of that. Apparently, this was a photo taken in college - way before he won olympic gold. Maybe things have changed since then, and he doesn't hit the bong anymore. DOESN'T MATTER. Once something from your past surfaces in the media, you're screwed. It's the past, that celebs always seems to forget, that will come back and haunt you forever. There's no way to avoid it, that's what people thrive off of - scandal, past or present. Just ask TMZ...

[Keith Mohr]

Phelps may have a new company who will endorse him..
Zig-Zag rolling papers..
Or, maybe he will be the new spokesman for Jamaica?

What a fool. My kids saw that and you should have seen their faces..it said it all.

[Lee Fox]

I think the point is consistency.

Michael Phelps was being held up as an American hero and role model for youngsters. The pic of him getting high contradicts the image he was cultivating and that his sponsors were exploiting.

If you are inconsistent, you will not be respected and sponsors will shy away from you.

I rather doubt that if a famous, limits testing rockstar was caught smoking pot that his endorsement deal with a guitar maker would be at risk. His outside the law behavior might even sell more guitars.

That said, there are socially unacceptable behaviors that will get you ostracized regardless of how outlandish your 'normal' behavior is. Child molestation, pet cruelty, etc..

So, ultimately, I rather doubt that endorsement or music licensing deals are more at risk because a well know athlete was caught out as a liar.

The perceived economic downturn will have far more influence on licensings/endorsements. Advertisers will be much more sensitive about the effectiveness of their advertising efforts and if an artist isn't delivering the goods their deals will end quickly.

[Jake]

What else is a guy to do with all of that endorsement money anyway?

[Darrell Shelley]

We are forgetting something here people, Michael Phelps is not a musician!!!

If that we're a college photo of Ben Harper....(hello "burn one down"...)

would anyone hold it against him???? I doubt it.

I thought this was about music...too bad for Phelps, Im sure any sports role model who did that would be scrutinized.

But as for keeping clean as a musician....well people don't really care...and thank you to Kurt Cobain and others, either good or bad...at least they've opened the worlds eyes!

And yes your grade 8 gym teacher probably smoked weed too, get used to it! It's not Heroin for crying out loud! Weed is ok! There's nothing in the Bible about it (for all of you die hard religious clean freaks)

[David Hooper]

Not saying endorsement deals in general are at risk. My point is that this stuff is a two-sided deal. If you want the money, you've got to hold up your end of the bargain.

[Graham English]

Michael Phelps' sponsors will continue to sponsor him, calling the story a non-issue http://ff.im/-RYZx

[Toggo]

It's all in what you make of the situation. With very few exceptions, all PR is good PR. Countless times, we've seen celebrities tied to scandals, only to have their careers boosted, because they knew how to capitalize on it.

Same thing with Michael Phelps - now it's up to him and his publicist(s) to make lemonade out of what is currently viewed as a lemon.

[Denise Grupp-Verbon]

In general, folks in the public eye should behave themselves. Musicians included.

[STREET SPIRIT]

If Phelps signed on to be clean cut for all those millions, that's what's expected. Period!

If i contract you to do something, that's what i expect from you. YOUR FIRED!

Now go find yourself.

[stv151261@aol.com]

Thanks for all the music industries information and its great to read allot of stuff that goes on the music world .
For me , I just a humble guy ,who sit in his room and write and write and write untill something happen and comming from a poor back ground it is hard having no money to kick start
my music works etc thanks to CDbaby.com and Other web music
to help the situation etc.
Lovin your programm and it help allot.

peace and all the best for 2009.

Stephen Bastien
Groove factory conobus.

[Derrick L Woods Sr]

I had a chance to promote the TAG Records event and Jermaine Dupri's indifferent attitude to our efforts signaled to me that I artists/ celebrity/ sports figures could care less about the companies they endorse once they cut the check. I personally think that celebrity behavior endangers it for others overall. As they keep saying we in a recession companies are finding ways to pull back on endorsements anyway. www.not-a-good-look.com

[arthur]

I think it's sad where the public owns a piece of you, where boing a celeb brings tabloid trashiness automatically. thankfully I avoid all that by being pro-drug, pro-sex pro-fun and being in a music genre that is almost anti-star (electronic): you seldom know what artists look like! the fact that anyone finds this news-worthy is, once again, sad.

ultimately, it is your behavior that matters, not what you're on. do what works for you.

http://www.myspace.com/artdamage000

[Paula Benson]

First, who was the person that sold the picture to the media? Phelps forgot he was a celebrity. Second, did his contract state what his behavior should be in the public eye? Third, was this is first mistake of bad choice? Phelps forgot that as a celebrity people wait and watch. I am not a celebrity but I have a contract that when I perform I have to act and sing songs that appeal to a certain group. If I make a mistake it will cost me. I am glad to say I act the same way on stage as I do off stage. I watch my conduct not because I am concern about what people think. I just like who I am. It's not to say I don't make mistakes. Now, since Phelps is a celebrity he will be forgiven a lot easier than the rest of us.

[tommy fell]

I personally don't give a rats @ss. What i care about is who we as a society put on a pedestal. we expect all who succeed to be super human and so we cast them in that light. We establish lables for people and try to cram everybody into one of them. No body looks at the years of effort it takes to be truly talented it is all so superficial in the music industry, sports industry, movie industry, etc. if those industries relied on hard work and true talent only, where would they be?

[Rob Rodell]

You write, "This is the United States..."

Well, you may be based there but remember you're no longer just writing to an American audience. When I spoke to a cohort of yours and told him I lived in Johannesburg, he sent me a reply saying, "write a paragraph about the music industry in your country..." I immediately wondered if he even knew where Johannesburg was.

When I was in San Francisco 18 months ago ordering pizza and the guy asked me where I was from (strange accent and all) and I said Johannesburg, he said, "Is that a country?" Never mind that Johannesburg is actually BIGGER than San Francisco.

Remember: more than half the world is "Third World," but growing in importance. That's why it's the G20 now...

[David Hooper]

Sure, this blog, as well as the radio show, certainly has an
international audience, but Phelps isn't exactly a worldwide
celebrity. Countries outside of the US and China may know who he is,
but does anybody really care? The US is where he's being marketed,
which is why I mentioned it.

Just to be clear, nobody from my company asked you to write anything
about Johannesburg, so "cohort" isn't exactly the best word to use for
the person who asked you for more information on the music industry
there.

Also, it's worth knowing that, with the exception of the radio
station, everybody I employ is outside of the US. My assistant is
based in Toronto, for example, and works virtually. I also have teams
in both France and India.

[Cheech]

Media Controls how you think!
Get away from that and you are a normal person again