Monday, February 16, 2009

Chris Brown, Rihanna and the image problem

Until someone dialed 911 on Feb. 8 to report a disturbance in Hancock Park, the pop star Rihanna and her R&B-singer boyfriend, Chris Brown, enjoyed relatively wholesome reputations. Attractive and talented, the couple were known as sexy but not overs*xed, fun-loving but not reckless. The two seemed unlikely to be involved in anything more shocking than an all-night dance party.


That image opened the door to a host of commercial endorsements. Chris Brown appeared in ads for Doublemint gum and milk while Rihanna hawked more than a dozen products, including Nike sportswear, Totes umbrellas, Venus razors and Fuze beverages.

But then came the ugly scene that left Rihanna bleeding and bruised, Chris Brown in police custody and the picture of them as hip, uncomplicated lovers in tatters.

"Good boy, good girl. It's something we'd never expect," said Emmanuel "E-Man" Coquia, assistant program director at Power 106, a radio station that plays both entertainers' hits. "The music that they sing -- they don't talk about this stuff, they talk about other things, about having fun."

The consequences to Chris Brown, 19, and Rihanna, 20, are extensive. She must deal with physical and emotional wounds; he must deal with a criminal case and potential time behind bars. A week after the incident, Chris Brown released his first public statement, which emphasized that blog and media reports that claimed to have received any previous statement from him about the incident were false.

"Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired," wrote Chris Brown. "I am seeking the counseling of my pastor, my mother and other loved ones and I am committed, with God's help, to emerging a better person."

But beyond the courtroom and the hospital, both performers have millions of dollars at stake in terms of possible damage to product endorsement predicated on reputations that no longer exist, branding experts say.

"Whether or not it is true is sort of beside the point," said Matt Delzell, who has worked with Rihanna as a group account director at Davie Brown Talent, a Dallas company that advises companies on celebrity endorsers.

"If people perceive that these two very successful, young, wealthy individuals turn out to be irresponsible . . . then it's absolutely going to hurt them," said Delzell.

Chris Brown has already experienced the fallout. A day after his arrest, the makers of Doublemint gum shelved ads featuring him singing a new jingle. The group behind the milk ad -- which showed Chris Brown dancing while wearing a milk mustache -- issued a statement saying they were taking the allegations against Chris Brown "very seriously" and noting that the campaign was already scheduled to end last week.

A spokeswoman for Rihanna's highest-profile endorsement, CoverGirl cosmetics, said ads featuring Rihanna are still running nationally but declined to discuss whether her status as an alleged victim of domestic violence would affect the future of the campaign.

Jay-Z Offers Support for Rihanna, Doesn't 'Want to Go Into It'

Music mogul Jay-Z had nothing, but words of support for his protege Rihanna when he talked to People during his appearance at the "Sprite Green presents the Third Annual Two Kings dinner with Jay-Z and LeBron James" in Phoenix on Saturday, February 14. "This is a real situation," so he commented about Rihanna becoming the victim of alleged attack by her boyfriend Chris Brown.

"You have to have compassion for others. Just imagine it being your sister or mom and then think about how we should talk about that," the hip-hop singer continued saying during the event, held as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend. "I just think we should all support her. She's going through a tough time. You have to realize she's a young girl, as well. She's very young."

Asked if he has seen Rihanna after reports of her alleged altercation with Chris Brown made their way all over the web, Jay-Z simply stated, "I don't want to go into it."

Last week report emerged, claiming Jay-Z was mad after hearing news that Rihanna was beaten by Chris Brown during a heated argument. "He hit the roof" when he first found out about it, a source close to Jay-Z has been cited as saying.

Meanwhile, Rihanna herself has not yet spoken up about what is really going on between her and Chris Brown. She offers no single word to their blow-up and, as confirmed by her father, she has been spending time with her girl friends.

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