Research

Podcast: Michael Vick, celebrity endorsements, and the fallout when an icon stumbles

Michael Vick's apparent involvement in the brutal "sport" of dog fighting is the latest incident to focus attention on celebrity endorsements. Companies that use sports stars to endorse their products are aware that the public attaches meaning to athletic performance — an emotional tie that can propel marketing messages. But when an athlete gets in trouble, do the companies pay a price too? Given the risk that the human icon will fall down, what are the factors that make some of these potentially risky relationships more valuable to companies than others? Ray Artigue, faculty director of the W. P. Carey MBA Sports Business Program, and John Eaton, clinical faculty in marketing at the W. P. Carey School, discuss the Vick case and its ripple effects.

2007-09-12

Michael Vick's apparent involvement in the brutal "sport" of dog fighting is the latest incident to focus attention on celebrity endorsements. Companies that use sports stars to endorse their products are aware that the public attaches meaning to athletic performance — an emotional tie that can propel marketing messages. But when an athlete gets in trouble, do the companies pay a price too?

Given the risk that the human icon will fall down, what are the factors that make some of these potentially risky relationships more valuable to companies than others? Ray Artique, faculty director of the W. P. Carey MBA Sports Business Program, and John Eaton, clinical faculty in marketing at the W. P. Carey School, discuss the Vick case and its ripple effects.

Advertising Marketing Faculty