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Trumped! Why dead celebs may be the safest option[/size]<br />November 14, 2012 - 1:26PM<br />Michael Baker<br /><br />ANALYSIS<br /><br />When PepsiCo announced a marketing campaign earlier this year that involved plastering Michael Jackson's silhouette on a billion Pepsi cans to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Bad album, some wondered if celebrity endorsement might have run off the rails. After all, Jackson was dead and not drinking much soda.<br /><br />But there was an upside to this as well – despite the controversies that followed him in life, Jackson was no longer in a position to heap unexpected embarrassment on Pepsi through fresh words and actions.<br /><br />
<br /><br />Living celebs can do more damage – as Nike and other backers of Lance Armstrong found out recently.<br />[...]<br />Michael Baker is principal of Baker Consulting and can be reached at michael@mbaker-retail.com and www.mbaker-retail.com.
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