Would luxury brands give disgraced Fan a reprieve?
BEIJING: Trade analysts are watching to see if luxury brands are going to give disgraced actress Fan Bingbing a reprieve following her hefty fine and detention for tax evasion.
She has long been the famous face of campaigns for Louis Vuitton, De Beers, Guerlain, and Montblanc.
A contrite and deeply embarrassed Fan and her related companies were ordered to pay around US$129 million (RM542 million) in fines and unpaid taxes as she was ruled to have evaded about US$1.07 million in personal income tax and business taxes when starring in the film The Bombing last year.
What’s at issue for the luxury sponsors that had tied their products to Fan is how long it will take for her reputation to recover, or whether it will at all. And will this affect the contracts, structuring or frequency of celebrity endorsements in China going forward?
Since 2012, the French luxury powerhouse Louis Vuitton had tapped into Fan’s popularity in China and forged a far-reaching business alliance with her. She attended almost all Louis Vuitton’s events and runway shows and wore the brand’s designs to many significant public occasions. Montblanc, Guerlain and De Beers all named her as their brand ambassador and pushed out campaigns featuring her.
All these brands have not made official announcements regarding the star, but Chinese media publication Daily Fashion News said that several luxury brands had quietly cut ties with Fan, in particular naming Montblanc as ceasing the partnership.
Fan’s fast and steep tumble from grace points out the problems for brands who use celebrity endorsement to boost their sales.
In her apology, Fan wrote, “I am deeply ashamed of what I did. I sincerely apologise for my behaviour and hope to be forgiven by all!”
As to whether her apology would be accepted by the luxury brands and her legions of fans, it’s difficult to gauge at the moment.
China’s social media is surprisingly no guide because Fan has blocked the comment feature under her feed on Weibo, and the Chinese government has apparently blocked online discussion of this issue.
I am deeply ashamed of what I did. I sincerely apologise for my behaviour and hope to be forgiven by all! Fan Bingbing, actress