Marketers Should Drop Rihanna, and Speak Out About Domestic Violence
Any brand endorsing Rihanna should drop her immediately. Don’t sit around and wait. Do it now.
I supported endorsements of the R&B singer after she became a victim of partner-related violence. It would have been wrong to drop her after she was allegedly beaten, strangled and bitten by her boyfriend musical artist Chris Brown.
But now she has reportedly returned to his side, sending a dangerous message that it’s ok for a girl to go back to a man after he hits her. If true, marketers need to hand out the pink slip and their PR reps should make a big deal about it. These companies need to send a strong public message to the millions of young female—and male—Rihanna fans and their customers that there is no excuse for violence against women. That it is wrong and there can never be an excuse for it.
Rihanna is a CoverGirl and there couldn’t be a better brand to take a stand by terminating the deal. The brand is all about looking good, taking care of yourself and treating yourself well.
Spokesperson Paige Marcel Cali said in a short e-mail message that “Rihanna is a CoverGirl and continues to represent the brand. As a matter of policy, we do not discuss our advertising.”
Totes, the marketer of umbrellas and rainwear, is another. It sells the Rihanna Umbrella Collection, still being promoted by a smiling Rihanna on its Web site.
Brands that had previous endorsement deals with Rihanna should also speak out, and fast. These are big names that have millions of women and young girls as customers, like Clinique’s Happy fragrance, JC Penney’s Miss Bisou juniors brand, Nike and Procter & Gamble’s Secret deodorant. High profile entertainers like Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres and many others have already done so.
When a celebrity endorsing a product gets in trouble, marketers tend to sit around, hold their breath, cross their fingers and hope that the storm will pass quickly.
It was shocking that Nickelodeon allowed Chris Brown to continue as a candidate for the upcoming “Kid’s Choice Awards.” He was even actively asking kids to vote for him just last week. It was only yesterday that he himself withdrew from the program, (likely pushed by Nickelodeon). But where was Nickelodeon? Why didn’t they drop him immediately, or after he apologized in court for the incident, in effect entering a guilty plea? What kind of a message does that send to all those kids?
For marketers, it’s all about the bottom line. If a company thinks they can hang on to the endorsement without damaging sales or brand image, they will. No doubt it’s a risky proposition to build a marketing campaign around a celebrity, particularly young celebrities, admired—and imitated—by impressionable young women and men.
But this situation is markedly different from other recent examples, like Michael Phelps bong-smoking mess. Violence against women is deadly serious. Although incidents of partner victimization have been declining over the last decade, in 2005, an average of three women in the U.S. were murdered every day, including 1,181 by an intimate partner. And women experience about 4.8 million partner-related physical assaults and rapes every year, according the National Organization for Women Web site.
So now is the time for marketers to speak up and keep the conversation going to help educate women about prevention and victim’s rights. Do it now.
March 17th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Hi,
I agree with the statement that she should be dropped, if all the facts have been represented correctly and she has not put in place a safety net (process with measurable accountability steps) to ensure that she and her bf are going to therapy and making continuous, sustained progress. I’m sure that the companies she works for have a clause that covers them if they think she will damage the brand by representing it, (at least I would anyway). So I guess that would lead me to believe that they, (the brands she reps) don’t give a thought to the messages they send to women and men, other than “hey, buy my stuff”. Pathetic, but we only have ourselves to blame, because if we continue to buy the stuff, we are silently agreeing. :(
March 17th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Finally a call for some responsibility! I agree - Rihanna and Chris Brown are role models to many people . . . they would not be getting million dollar endorsement deals if they were not. That said, the pressure for them to behave as positive role models should be felt in their pocketbooks because that is one of the few ways society is able to send a strong message.
I am appalled by the entire situation, not to mention the public’s laissez-faire reaction to the severity of it (domestic violence is not okay!). First of all, Chris Brown should be jailed for his criminal actions. Second of all, Rihanna had an opportunity to take a stand on the issue and inspire other women to change their circumstances – at which point I would have stood behind her supportively and put my money where my mouth was; instead she unofficially endorsed domestic violence. As a consumer, I align my interests with my purchasing habits and supporting domestic violence is not in my interests. As a result, I will no longer be supporting the products Rihanna of Chris Brown endorse. I hope her business partners are listening because I assure you I am not alone in my actions.
The situation has now become bigger than the two of them. For those who say a celebrity’s personal life should remain personal, I disagree. The moment a star accepts millions of dollars for an endorsement deal they have taken on a responsibility that encompasses their entire livelihood . . . live by the sword, die by the sword.
In closing, do me a favor and let us readers know when Rihanna and Chris Brown’s PR teams are fired! For everyone’s sake, I hope it is only a matter of time.
March 17th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
I’ll second that sentiment.
March 18th, 2009 at 10:02 am
As long as parents are negligent in their duties, so called “role models” will continue to have a greater impact on our children’s lives than they should. Instead of callling for imposition of financial sanctions against too very young people in a situation that we the public do not fully know or understand, why don’t the parents of America talk to their OWN children about domesetic violence? Or have we abdicated our responsibilty to raise our children to the young celebrities du jour?
This is yet another sad, but teachable moment (as was Michael Phelps’ drug use). Take the initiative to educate your own child bout appropriate social behavior. Don’t leave that job to the marketers or public opinion. They have their own agendas.