Celebrity endorsement was once upon a time the most sought after PR for any brand. However it seems the marketing tactic has saturated so much over the years that companies are now going to opposite way and paying celebrities ‘NOT’ to wear their clothes.
Jersey Shore stars including ‘The Situation’ have been reportedly offered money from US Brand Abercrombie & Fitch to stop wearing their clothes, as they feel it gives off a bad impression of the type of people who wear the clothes.
It’s a bit of a cheek as all their advertising features semi naked men with washboard abs?
A&B made the following statement:
“We are deeply concerned that Mr. Sorrentino’s association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image. We understand that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans. We have therefore offered a substantial payment to Michael ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino and the producers of MTV’s The Jersey Shore to have the character wear an alternate brand. We have also extended this offer to other members of the cast, and are urgently waiting a response.”
They should be careful, what happened when Cristal stopped wanting rappers like Jay-Z drinking their Champagne?
I’m not a fortune teller but I see an ‘Abercrombie & Fitch Closing down’ sign in the future!
Forbes made a good point: Abercrombie knows that no publicity is bad publicity, even if it’s trying to pretend otherwise.
Now that is a Situation!
Jersey Shore Season 4 is currently screening on MTV and sees the gang taking over Florence, Italy