Wrigley dumped R&B star Chris Brown as its Doublemint brand celebrity face after his arrest on charges of allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, singer Rihanna.
Wrigley said its was “concerned by the serious allegations” against Brown and declared he should be given the benefit of due process.
“However, we have made the decision to suspend the current advertising featuring Brown and related marketing communications until the matter is resolved,” Wrigley’s statement concluded.
Brown had also been one of the celebrity faces for the Milk Processor Education Program, which said his participation was slated to conclude this week, as planned.
“The Milk Mustache campaign is taking the allegations against Chris Brown very seriously,” the trade group said in a statement. “We are very proud and protective of the image of the Milk Mustache campaign and the responsible message it sends to teens.”
Brown, 19, was released from police custody on $50,000 bail on Monday, the day after the alleged attack on the 20-year-old Rihanna took place.
Both singers bowed out of scheduled performances at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night. Brown also withdrew from an appearance at the NBA All-Star Game next Sunday.
While questions about the viability of his entertainment career remained, there seemed little question that his endorsement days are definitely over.
“It depends on the charges. Unless it’s murder or child molestation, his career is not over,” said Bob Dorfman, vice president of Baker Street Partners, a San Francisco-based firm that tracks star appeal. “It doesn’t have to be as severe to remove his sponsorship potential.”
Dorfman said the recent spate of revelations about Oympics swinner Michael Phelps’ marijuana misadventure, Yankees’ star Alex Rodriguez’s steroid use and Brown’s arrest would likely dampen brands interest in signing celebrity endorsers.
“There’s ways to align your product with the music and sports audiences without aligning yourself with a particular celebrity,” Brown said.
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