celebrity

When I was growing up the tiger brand belonged to a gasoline. You knew with that gas in your car you were going to tear up the road. Oh, it also belonged to Tony the Tiger; your cereal was going to make you feel GGGRRREEEEAAAAT! Then, there was the scary "Eye of the Tiger" song, part of that frightening swath of bad movie soundtracks that I hope will never be resurrected.

Anyway, today, the “brand of tiger” belongs to the man, Tiger Woods. But is his brand out of the woods? Will it ever be fully reconciled with its former self? Of course not. It will never go back to its elusive, excellent former position. But, the brand just might emerge better than ever. Here are 2 scenarios...

1) Tiger comes clean and owns up...

In this scenario we meet Tiger the REAL man. This is Tiger the humble, the guy who slipped off his pedestal (it's darned hard to live under child star scrutiny). This is Tiger who did what a lot of guys do but did it married (a really BAD idea, guys). Tiger, what WERE you thinking... Anyway, he can say sorry, he may never get his wife back, but a humbled, chastened Tiger could be good for his brand and others. For instance, the American car industry, “We were too big for our britches, give us a chance, we're ready to do it right...”

2) Tiger, bad to the bone and loving it!

In this scenario Tiger owns up to being an undercover bad guy. Yep, that's right. I was wrong, but being wrong can feel so right. And not only that, I'm good. Actually, the best in the biz, so get out of my way, let me get back in action. I'll show you guys how it's done. A fast food chain my be a good brand partner here. Yes, this is totally bad for you, but that crazy saturated fat tastes good doesn't it, so WHO CARES!

Tiger most likely you'll have to do a bit of both.

My recco? Just play good golf buddy.

Jennifer Aniston. Jennifer Aniston and perfume? Sure, why not! She’s youthful, spunky, fresh faced, a survivor. She's got the "get up and go" to handle a perfume. She stands for things, many things, and that's what you need when you're doing a perfume. You need context, you need content, you need... CELEBRITY!

Celebrity, she's got it. You go girl! Celebrity, who would want it? At least her kind. No privacy, your every move chronicled by ruthless photographers.

Oh, celebrity can give you fragrance deals. And after all, that's pretty sweet. Having a perfume. A perfume named after you!

I'm not against it and I like JA. I probably wouldn't buy it, but I'm probably not the target (I like my perfume made in France and by brands like Hermes, but I'm old fashioned). BUT, I bet millions of others would try it, and if it's good, shoot I bet they would come back for more.

JA, go for it. I think you may have a hit on your hands!

I am a “Good Morning America” nut. I watch every single morning. I follow Chris and Sam on Twitter. You get the idea. And while GMA feeds my soul on a daily basis, it seldom feeds my work—alas, stories about three-year-olds surviving a week alone in the woods outfitted only in flame-retardant PJs aren’t as applicable to fashion as one might think.
 
So imagine my surprise when Diane announced during this morning’s show that the Olsen twins were stopping by to make an announcement—causing me to recalculate my morning routine to allow for lunch making as well as Olsen twins news. Turns out those wily twins are launching a tween fashion line with J.C. Penney’s set to hit floors in February nationwide.
 
Now, I must admit, when Penney’s opened up their Manhattan flagship store this summer, I cringed at the amount of money they were dumping into such a grand venture during the worst retail climate in a long time. I mean, I think Target’s move to introduce the GO International program was nothing short of brilliant. But J.C. Penney’s celebrity diffuse lines have fallen short for consumers and me as well. A quick gander at the I ‘Heart’ Ronson line, by wunderkind Charlotte Ronson, shows a hefty number of markdowns. That said, I must say that I’m impressed with Penney’s ability to cajole Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen into launching a line for them. The kids that grew up watching Ash and MK on television and video are now credit card carrying teens and young adults—a fact I’m sure the big wigs at JCP are banking on (pun intended).
 
Select styles of the "Olsenboye" line — named for the twins' family in Norway — will be offered for a limited time online and in some stores from Nov. 6 until the official launch in February. Prices range between $20 and $50. Marketing support leans heavily on social-media buzz and "guerrilla" street outreach via pink ice cream trucks turned mobile shops that will travel around New York City today, with the Olsen sisters aboard. Ultimately, if this venture doesn’t end in a landside retail success (which it just might) it’s already a resounding PR success. As Michelle on “Full House” would say: J.C. Penney’s, you got it dude!
 

Not sure. Let’s take a look. 

Golf. Sure Tiger rocks out with the putter (or he did), but he’s also hot. Camillo Villegas, he is VERY good for golf.

You may or may not like him, but Donny Deutsch is good looking (even with those funny glasses) and it has certainly helped his career. Yes, he’s smart, of course, but he’s cute. And that’s good for TV.

Barack Obama. He’s got that fab tall frame and winning smile. Very nice looking leader of the free world.

IS THIS THE MOST VAPID BLOG EVER? Yep.

We aren’t going to mention actors or entertainers, they’re supposed to be good looking, and generally are, even when they aren’t (aka Robert Pattinson—please don’t throw anything!)

And how about Ed Viesturs mountain climber extraordinaire? Sure, he’s able to climb the top 14 tallest peaks without oxygen, but I suspect it’s his toothy smile that landed him all those endorsement deals.

I could go on and make a total fool of myself so I’ll stop here…

With all these hotties notwithstanding, when you start scrolling down the venerable list of Fortune 500 CEOs you might not find the best looking group of people (this is SO incorrect). And that basically gives us our answer. NO, good looking is not necessarily good for business. But it’s a nice bonus.