10 Endorsement Deals That Went Wrong

Southwest Airlines and SeaWorld:  SeaWorld is a theme park in U.S. and the Southwest Airlines had a long relationship of endorsing the brand through their Airlines. The company though had to bring an end to this relationship as Animal rights activists put pressure on the Airlines.

The company has no other choice but to repaint all their Planes that had pictures of animals and the theme park on them. The two companies declined to comment on any issues or reasons but silently parted ways. 

Kobe Bryant: One of the greats in all time NBA league made headlines when he was accused of sexual assault back in early 2000s. The then young player was endorsing brands like Nutella and McDonald’s, which saw an end to these illustrious deals.

The companies dropped and refused to renew the contracts with the MVP winner. These allegations however were dropped as he was proved not guilty, which later opened doors for endorsements again. He now endorses for Nike and other leading sport brands.

Akon and Verizon: The Senegalese-American artist was cut off from the deal with Verizon when he was spotted stimulating sexual action in a performance in Trinidad. The company also pulled out from various other shows that had Akon as an opening act. The girl in the video that circulated in YouTube was later identified to be under aged and a pastor’s daughter.

Akon later wrote an unconditional letter but also blaming the club for giving entry to minor girl. Akon is not the first celebrity endorser to have been sacked by Verizon over bad behavior.

Lance Armstrong and Nike: The Legendry cyclist, who won seven Tour De France titles, was stripped off of all his titles. He also started a foundation to fight cancer, which he battle and won. His famous arm bands, Livestrong, were manufactured by Nike.

But after the revelation of his using illegal drugs for the game, the giant sports brand, Nike cut all ties and stopped all communications and associations with the tainted sports star. The company said that their ‘just do it’ slogan did not apply to doping.

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