This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.
The cliché of the pencil-thin model is made corporeal in the body of supermodel Kate Moss, the waif that launched a thousand brands. Among those brands tying their fortune to her size 0 sails were H&M (STO:HMB), Burberry (LON:BRBY) and Chanel.
Unfortunately, they made the same mistake many baseball owners did -- failing to ask just how their star could maintain such a remarkable body. The answer for Moss, apparently, was toot. When she was photographed in 2005 by London's Daily Mail using cocaine at a Babyshambles recording session, the fashion industry recoiled in faux revulsion.
Leading the retreat were the brands to whom she had lent her good name, the same H&M, Burberry and Chanel. Each invoked the morals clause to terminate her contract, making that a multi-million dollar line of coke.
So that was the end of Moss, right? Think again. In the fashion world, morals transgressions are so, like, yesterday. Within a year, Moss had signed new contracts with Calvin Klein and other top fashions brands. Brendan Behan, who said there is no such thing as bad publicity (except your own obituary) knew what he was talking about, at least in the fashion world.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-21-2008 @ 7:21AM
Helen Dixon said...
Hey, Kate ... Your *Junkie* life has finally caught up with you, eh? You used to be pretty, but now you're just a pimpled puke-face, bee-otch! Also, aren't you getting a little too old now to be "smackin'?" What a shame that you models and actresses let yourselves slip down in the gutter like you do! You might as well have been born ugly ('cause that's what you are now)!! Ugh-hh, my sister is better looking than you nowadays!
7-26-2008 @ 4:40PM
KALIN said...
ONCE YOU ARE HOOKED ON DRUGS, EITHER LEGAL OR ILLEGAL, IT'S A TOUGH HABIT TO BREAK AND SIMPLY DESTROYS THAT PERSONS LIFE, NOT TO MENTION THAT PERSONS FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHO LOVE AND CARE ABOUT THE ADDICTED DRUG USER. THE BEST THING PEOPLE CAN DO FOR A DRUG USER IS SIMPLY TO ELIMINATE THAT PERSON FROM YOUR LIFE UNTIL THEY MAKE A DECISION TO GET CLEAN, AND IF YOU DON'T YOU ARE DO NOTHING BUT ENABLING AND SUPPORTING THEIR DRUG HABIT. YOU ARE BASICALLY GIVING THEM A FREE RIDE AND LICENSED TO USE, TELLING THEM IT'S OKAY TO USE DRUGS AND WE WILL TOLERATE IT. YOU CAN'T DO THAT WITH A DRUG ADDICT. YOU HAVE TO BE STRONG IF YOU HOPE TO SAVE THAT PERSONS LIFE. DRUGS WILL ONLY BRING DEATH AND DESTRUCTION IN THE END, THE QUESTION IS, DO YOU WANT TO GO ALONG FOR THE ROLLER-COASTER RIDE??