2008 July 19 | money news blog

19 07 2008

Spokesperson fiasco #11: Bruce Willis and Seagram’s

Posted by: in Marketing and Advertising

Filed under: Marketing and advertising, Diageo plc (DEO)

This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

In the mid-eighties, a couple of years before I began to drink legally, wine coolers became the alcoholic beverage of choice. Sweet and mildly alcoholic, they came in a variety of fruit flavors and neatly halved the distance between blended drinks and a Shirley Temple. The combination of cheap wine, carbonated water, fruit juice, and sugar actually packed a pretty decent kick, particularly given that the sweetness almost completely obscured the taste of the alcohol.

One of the toughest problems with wine coolers was selling them to an adult audience. While precocious youngsters were quick to appreciate the Lolita-esque appeal of a super-sweet alcoholic version of Kool-Aid, this image was far from attractive to most of the people who actually purchased alcohol. To combat the soda pop overtones of the product, Ernest and Julio Gallo used a version of conservative, home-town sincerity to push their “Bartles and Jaymes” brand. Beginning in 1984, they ran a series of ads featuring two men in hats and suspenders — “Frank Bartles” and “Ed Jaymes” — talking in halting sentences about their fine products. The commercials took off and Bartles and Jaymes became an industry leader.

Seagram’s (Diageo plc, NYSE:DEO), desperate to up the sales of its flagging brand, hired Bruce Willis in 1986. Popular as “David Addison” on Moonlighting, Willis brought a fun, wisecracking sensibility to the ads, which borrowed heavily from the Bartles and Jaymes brand, often featuring a group of friends sitting around a porch, jamming about the glories of Seagram’s Golden Wine coolers. The commercials were exceedingly popular, spawning Willis’ short-lived singing career and vaulting Segrams from fifth-ranked to top-ranked brand within two years.

Unfortunately, Willis wasn’t content to merely demonstrate the social-lubricant aspects of alcohol consumption, and began indulging in a tiny extracurricular imbibing. Following a drunk-driving conviction, Seagram’s swiftly fired him. One can only assume that his 1987 arrest for disturbing the police and assaulting a police officer might have contributed to the decision.

While Willis rollicking mid-eighties ads for the wine coolers were a lot of fun, the same can’t be stated for his music career. In this context, Seagram’s decision to put the kibosh on the vocal stylings of Bruno might actually rank as a humanitarian endeavor. Willis, meanwhile, went on to do great work in Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, and The Sixth Sense. In the long run, he should probably keep Seagram’s on his yearly Christmas card list!*

*Okay, Die Hard isn’t Hamlet. But it was a solid, fun film and has probably made Bruce Willis more money than he has the ability to count.

19 07 2008

Spokesperson fiasco #12: The Dell Dude does drugs

Posted by: in Marketing and Advertising

Filed under: Dell (DELL), Marketing and advertising

This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

When Ben Curtis first hit the TV advertisement airwaves, I couldn’t decide whether I was enchanted or annoyed. Computers were all the rage and Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) was the sweetest apple on the PC tree. When the “Dell Dude” enthusiastically told his little friend, “Dude, you’re getting a Dell!” — weren’t we all a tiny excited?

And, let’s be honest, wasn’t he — and Dell — trading on the unspoken currency of the pot-smoking twang in his voice? It was hilarious, this college kid personal cheerleader. Unfortunately, hilarity equaled truth. In 2003 (right around the time he was phased out by the four adorable Dell interns — which is a whole different story) Curtis was busted for buying a very small amount of pot. “For personal use.”

It was hardly the criminal arrest of the century (probably not even of that night in New York), it marked the end of Curtis’ career with Dell. It didn’t signal the end of his notoriety, however; he was given some coverage late last year for his bartending gig at Tortilla Flats, a popular financial district eatery in New York. The story goes that he makes great tips from fans of his former modify ego, and he’s often asked to say his money line. He even dressed up as the Dell Dude for Halloween.

Who wants to bet we’ll see him in an indie flick before too long?

Read the entire series

19 07 2008

Spokesperson fiasco #11: Bruce Willis and Seagram’s

Posted by: in Marketing and Advertising

Filed under: Marketing and advertising, Diageo plc (DEO)

This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

In the mid-eighties, a couple of years before I began to drink legally, wine coolers became the alcoholic beverage of choice. Sweet and mildly alcoholic, they came in a variety of fruit flavors and neatly halved the distance between blended drinks and a Shirley Temple. The combination of cheap wine, carbonated water, fruit juice, and sugar actually packed a pretty decent kick, particularly given that the sweetness almost completely obscured the taste of the alcohol.

One of the toughest problems with wine coolers was selling them to an adult audience. While precocious youngsters were swift to appreciate the Lolita-esque appeal of a super-sweet alcoholic version of Kool-Aid, this image was far from attractive to most of the people who actually purchased alcohol. To combat the soda pop overtones of the product, Ernest and Julio Gallo used a version of conservative, home-town sincerity to push their “Bartles and Jaymes” brand. Beginning in 1984, they ran a series of ads featuring two men in hats and suspenders — “Frank Bartles” and “Ed Jaymes” — speaking in halting sentences about their fine products. The commercials took off and Bartles and Jaymes became an industry leader.

Seagram’s (Diageo plc, NYSE:DEO), desperate to up the sales of its flagging brand, hired Bruce Willis in 1986. Popular as “David Addison” on Moonlighting, Willis brought a fun, wisecracking sensibility to the ads, which borrowed heavily from the Bartles and Jaymes brand, often featuring a group of friends sitting around a porch, jamming about the glories of Seagram’s Golden Wine coolers. The commercials were exceedingly popular, spawning Willis’ short-lived singing career and vaulting Segrams from fifth-ranked to top-ranked brand within two years.

Unfortunately, Willis wasn’t content to merely demonstrate the social-lubricant aspects of alcohol consumption, and began indulging in a little extracurricular imbibing. Following a drunk-driving conviction, Seagram’s swiftly fired him. One can only assume that his 1987 arrest for disturbing the police and assaulting a police officer might have contributed to the decision.

While Willis rollicking mid-eighties ads for the wine coolers were a lot of fun, the same cannot be stated for his music career. In this context, Seagram’s decision to put the kibosh on the vocal stylings of Bruno might actually rank as a humanitarian endeavor. Willis, meanwhile, went on to do great work in Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, and The Sixth Sense. In the long run, he should probably keep Seagram’s on his yearly Christmas card list!*

*Okay, Die Hard isn’t Hamlet. But it was a solid, fun film and has probably made Bruce Willis more money than he can count.

19 07 2008

Spokesperson fiasco #13: Akon’s sexy dancing for Verizon

Posted by: in Marketing and Advertising

Filed under: Marketing and advertising, Verizon Communications (VZ)

This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

Hip-hop/R&B artist Akon is the only person to have twice held both the first and second spots on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously. Winner of a Grammy for his hit “Smack That”, he has expanded his repertoire to include producing music and founding his own music production and distribution companies. Such a popular entertainer and entrepreneur would obviously be attractive to a company such as Verizon (NSYE:VZ), looking to hook into the cell-addicted young American.

Akon brought strong ties to the world market, too. Born in Senegal, and raised in New Jersey, a Muslim rumored to have wed multiple women, his exotic background added to his appeal.

Unfortunately, for Verizon, his background failed to properly prepare him to control his on-stage antics or properly estimate the age of his audience. In April of 2007, during a set in Trinidad and Tobago, Akon invited a young lady onto the stage to join him in a simulated sex routine. Unfortunately, the lady proved to be the 15-year-old daughter of a minister. Even more unfortunately, for Akon and Verizon, Akon’s film crew recorded the incident and uploaded it to the internet, where it drew great public censure. Shortly thereafter, Verizon pulled its sponsorship of Akon’s Sweet Escape tour and quit offering his music as ring tones.

Akon’s song “Sorry, Blame it On Me,” is an apology to the young lady at the center of the scandal. Verizon is still waiting for its song of apology.

19 07 2008

Spokesperson fiasco #12: The Dell Dude does drugs

Posted by: in Marketing and Advertising

Filed under: Dell (DELL), Marketing and advertising

This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

When Ben Curtis first hit the TV advertisement airwaves, I couldn’t decide whether I was enchanted or annoyed. Computers were all the rage and Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) was the sweetest apple on the Computer tree. When the “Dell Dude” enthusiastically told his tiny friend, “Dude, you’re getting a Dell!” — weren’t we all a tiny excited?

And, let’s be honest, wasn’t he — and Dell — trading on the unspoken currency of the pot-smoking twang in his voice? It was hilarious, this college kid computer cheerleader. Unfortunately, hilarity equaled truth. In 2003 (right around the time he was phased out by the four cute Dell interns — which is a whole different story) Curtis was busted for buying a very small amount of pot. “For personal use.”

It was hardly the criminal arrest of the century (probably not even of that night in New York), it marked the end of Curtis’ career with Dell. It didn’t signal the end of his notoriety, however; he was given some coverage late last year for his bartending gig at Tortilla Flats, a popular financial district eatery in New York. The story goes that he makes great tips from fans of his former alter ego, and he’s often asked to say his money line. He even dressed up as the Dell Dude for Halloween.

Who wants to bet we’ll see him in an indie flick before too long?

Read the entire series

19 07 2008

Spokesperson fiasco #14: Slowhand pukes on Michelob

Posted by: in Marketing and Advertising

Filed under: Marketing and advertising, Activision Inc (ATVI)

This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

In 1987, Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD) was featuring renown musicians such as Stevie Winwood and Phil Collins in a “The Night Belongs to Michelob” ad campaign. I’m sure the ad hacks in charge thought they’d had a stroke of genius when they conceived of using Eric “Slowhand” Clapton, performing his hit “After Midnight”, as part of the series. 1 a.m., guitar god, and Michelob; seems like a natural, right?

I can’t help but think that someone should have checked on Clapton’s habits before launching the ad. Having fought well-publicized heroin addiction and a taste for cocaine, Clapton revealed to Rolling Stone that at the time of the ad’s release he was in a detox facility. Battling alcoholism. His nights belonged to imaginary snakes rather than dirty-dancing runway models.

My recommendation? I’d steer clear of junkies as spokespersons, unless I was selling needles, smack or size 0 dresses. The image of spokespeople puking their guts out doesn’t make me yearn for a beer.

19 07 2008

Spokesperson fiasco #13: Akon’s sexy dancing for Verizon

Posted by: in Marketing and Advertising

Filed under: Marketing and advertising, Verizon Communications (VZ)

This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

Hip-hop/R&B artist Akon is the only person to have twice held both the first and second spots on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously. Winner of a Grammy for his hit “Smack That”, he has expanded his repertoire to include producing music and founding his own music production and distribution companies. Such a popular entertainer and entrepreneur would obviously be attractive to a company such as Verizon (NSYE:VZ), looking to hook into the cell-addicted young American.

Akon brought strong ties to the world market, too. Born in Senegal, and raised in New Jersey, a Muslim rumored to have wed multiple women, his exotic background added to his appeal.

Unfortunately, for Verizon, his background failed to properly prepare him to control his on-stage antics or properly estimate the age of his audience. In April of 2007, during a set in Trinidad and Tobago, Akon invited a young lady onto the stage to join him in a simulated sex routine. Unfortunately, the lady proved to be the 15-year-old daughter of a minister. Even more unfortunately, for Akon and Verizon, Akon’s film crew recorded the incident and uploaded it to the web, where it drew great public censure. Shortly thereafter, Verizon pulled its sponsorship of Akon’s Sweet Escape tour and quit offering his music as ring tones.

Akon’s song “Sorry, Blame it On Me,” is an apology to the young lady at the center of the scandal. Verizon is still waiting for its song of apology.

19 07 2008

Spokesperson fiasco #14: Slowhand pukes on Michelob

Posted by: in Marketing and Advertising

Filed under: Marketing and advertising, Activision Inc (ATVI)

This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

In 1987, Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD) was featuring renown musicians such as Stevie Winwood and Phil Collins in a “The Night Belongs to Michelob” ad campaign. I’m sure the ad hacks in charge thought they’d had a stroke of genius when they conceived of using Eric “Slowhand” Clapton, performing his hit “After Midnight”, as part of the series. 1 a.m., guitar god, and Michelob; seems like a natural, right?

I can’t help but think that someone should have checked on Clapton’s habits before launching the ad. Having fought well-publicized heroin addiction and a taste for cocaine, Clapton revealed to Rolling Stone that at the time of the ad’s release he was in a detox facility. Battling alcoholism. His nights belonged to imaginary snakes rather than dirty-dancing runway models.

My recommendation? I’d steer clear of junkies as spokespersons, unless I was selling needles, smack or size 0 dresses. The image of spokespeople puking their guts out doesn’t make me yearn for a beer.

19 07 2008

Spokesperson fiasco #15: Payless Shoe Source boots Star Jones to the curb

Posted by: in Marketing and Advertising

Filed under: Marketing and advertising

This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

When it rains, it pours. Back in 2005 Defamer reports that Star ” I am a lawyer” Jones was booted as a spokesperson for Payless Shoe Source around the same time that she was dumped from The View. Jones was clearly of no use to the shoe chain once she was Barbaraed off of The View. So Payless used its steel-toed boot to kick her to the curb.

Defamer noted that both celebrations tried to put a good spin on the situation. Payless said that the terms of their contract called for it to end after three years and that it was successful. And Jones said the same thing about the contract ending — but she recommended that Payless decided it no longer wanted celebrities to endorse its products. Jones clearly still considered herself a celebrity.

But the people who release such statements are often paid well to provide a different view of reality. Unfortunately for Jones, it has been years since she’s had as good a marketing platform as The View — from which to offer such spin.