Are you bad enough to sink my brand?

Ben Roethlisberger. Michael Phelps. Tiger Woods. When these sports celebrities submerged themselves in various depths of hot water, did the brands they endorse feel the heat? Not as much as you might suspect, according to a recent Adweek Media/Harris Poll. It left researchers wondering if survey respondents were understating the degree to which scandals grab their interest. Or, it could be that a person’s indifference to a lot of marketing may help insulate brands from collateral damage.

In other words, how could you think less of Titleist golf balls after the Tiger Woods scandal if you didn’t know Tiger was endorsing them? It’s interesting to note people age 55 and older were especially unlikely to alter their view of a brand (81 percent said so versus 72 percent of younger folks). My favorite group of respondents is the 1 percent who said they feel “much better” about a brand when the celebrity endorser is involved in a scandal!