Will Brown Bring Biebs Down?

Posted by on Dec 29, 2010 in Brands | 7 comments

Justin Bieber and Chris Brown

When MTV News announced the latest music collaboration between Chris Brown and Justin Bieber, I just about fell off my chair.

I couldn’t help but be completely confused. What was Bieber’s team thinking? The Bieber brand is pure, like that of Miley Cyrus before she started pole dancing and doing other crazy stuff. Parents embrace him, kids love him and merchandise flies off the shelf faster than you can say Baby, Baby, Baaby Ohh. The kid even has a book on a New York Times Best Seller list. His brand is an empire that stands for goodness and innocence.

And now let’s look at Brown’s brand. Ahhh, it’s not so good. Yes, he’s been making strides since the recent domestic assault incident. He’s attended counseling and classes and completed his community service. And while everyone deserves a second chance, I’ll venture a guess that most people still think of a battered Rhianna when they hear his name.

I think Brown hit the jackpot by partnering with Bieber. Not only does he get instant access to millions of young Bieber fans, he gets to align himself with Bieber’s squeaky-clean image. It’s perfect for a fallen star trying to get back on top.

It seems like a lopsided partnership. Yes, Bieber’s been a big Brown fan and can be found singing his songs on YouTube before he hit it big. And yes, he’s partnered with other not-so-squeaky-clean musicians like Ludacris and Kanye West, but the decision to partner with Brown seems to bring along a lot of baggage.

Do you think Brown will tarnish Bieber’s image or will Bieber cast a shine on Brown’s?

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  • http://twitter.com/georgefiddler George

    I have to say, this is a better move by Brown’s camp then having him sing the national anthem before the Floyd Mayweather fight last spring.

  • http://www.mikebilleter.com Mike Billeter

    I think if this had happened a year ago it would be a much more foolish decision on the part of Bieber’s team. But, for better or for worse, our country has a tendency to forgive and forget (sadly, too often it is simply forget) the mistakes and poor decisions of our celebrities. While a small contingency of people will most likely forever loathe Brown for his past actions, the general populace will have a new person to be mad at sooner than later and his mishaps will most likely be relegated to a small paragraph on Wikipedia 20 years from now.

    To be clear, I don’t approve of this trend in ANY way whatsoever, I’m just sharing my thoughts on why it won’t be as big a hit to Bieber’s image as it could’ve been if it had happened immediately following Brown’s assault charges. But just like we’ve seen with Michael Vick recently, Americans are quick forgive their heroes, especially when they return to a high level of performance.

    As you mentioned earlier, I think it’s a brilliant move on the part of Brown’s people. If he manages to connect with millions of kids who don’t even know what domestic assault is AND can slip his past mistakes past their parents (many of whom probably have never even heard of Chris Brown in the first place), he’ll definitely expand his audience into a fan base that will be less concerned with his past and more concerned with watching the YouTube video 746 times a day for a month straight.

    I don’t think that makes it right, but I do think that’s how it will unfold.

    Good question to discuss, Allison. It’s amazing (and kind of sad) what a little time and some strong PR work can do for someone.

  • Alli

    Thanks for your comment Mike. Yes, it’s amazing to see how quickly people forgive and forget celebrity antics.

  • Andrew

    As we’ve seen with boy bands over and over, teenage girls grow up and their tastes change. Justin Timberlake is the only artist who’s survived a boy band and forged a reputable R&B career. I think the Bieber camp followed Timberlake’s model. Timberlake has collaborated with 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Clipse and T.I., among others. To sustain, Bieber needs his material to grow up before he has. Sad world, indeed, but a brilliant marketing decision.

  • Alli

    Ha! Yes it is!

  • Jeremy

    I think lil Justin really just wants to get punched in the face to earn some street cred. :)

  • Andrew

    How do you drum up even more buzz for the boy who takes up 3% of Twitter’s server space at any given moment?

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