Boycotting Celebrity Endorsements

[blas87]

Threads on CS and just rekindling the memories of last winter and Chris Brown (and so on and so on backwards throughout celebrities fucking up history).

Does it make sense to refuse to buy anything that a certain celebrity endorses if they are caught doing something illegal/immoral/unethical?

For me, I was over the moon when the radio quit playing Chris Brown and he lost his gum contract (they pulled the commercial with him in it, it was either for Juicy Fruit or Spearmint gum, there were several different celebrities on these commercials). I think what he did was disgusting and wrong.

On the same note, I can't help but think that part of the reason Rihanna cut off contact with him was because she may have risked losing her Cover Girl and other contracts if she stayed with her abuser. I don't enjoy thinking like this, because I'm almost always the victim's advocate here, but since she's a celebrity with so many endorsements, I can't help but think that, at least a little bit.

What do you guys think? It can be Tiger Woods, Chris Brown, whomever.

[jackfaire]

Honestly no it doesn't to me. That being said I can see the logic here.

People want others to behave the way they think they should and since they can't spank (insert celeb here) or send said person to their rooms they do so with their wallets. The one unfortunate side effect of our capitalist system is that morality gets decided by whomever the biggest demographic is.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Actually Blas, Rihanna's endorsements were a big part of the reason. Everyone around her pounded it into her head that if she went back to him her career would be OVER. People would turn their backs on her. So she cut off all communication with him and the people around her helped her do it.

[Slytovhand]

Isn't the idea of advertising with celebrities and the like to tell people "This is what you want to be like! See - super awesome and amazing person XYZ uses our product. If you use our product, you will become super awesom and amazing as well".

So, it makes sense they get canned from the advertising.

And, since it does appear to affect sales, because people do vote for or against stars through their wallets, it sort of does make sense to boycott them.

In our capitalistic society, where morals are often dubious for those with the money and fame, hitting their pockets may make them think a bit more, where us lesser mortals just have our ethics to go on.

[Rapscallion]

I really don't think that boycotts of celebrities really work. The reason? Chris Brown.

He's convicted of abusing his girlfriend. Shortly after this, his track 'Forever' made it really big on the JK Wedding video. Yup, a true romantic there.

Gary Glitter - one of us Limeys. Child sex stuff found on his computer hard drive during a repair. Massive outrage over here. No way he's going to do any more performing here. Still earns a small fortune every year from his music being played at US football games.

Rapscallion

[crashhelmet]

Gary Glitter - one of us Limeys. Child sex stuff found on his computer hard drive during a repair. Massive outrage over here. No way he's going to do any more performing here. Still earns a small fortune every year from his music being played at US football games.

With that though, not many people outside of HS/College Band Members know what that song is called (Rock and Roll Part 2), let alone who wrote it.

It also has to do with the amount of publicity it generates. Uncle Kracker was arrested on Statutory Rape charges not too long ago but it got hushed quickly. The drummer for the band Poison got busted for Child Pornography, but it got hushed too.

CH