Brett Favre's still bad to the bone for Wrangler

By Hart Van Denburg Wed., Oct. 13 2010 at 8:34 AM

Categories: Brett Favre, Vikings

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Nothing's coming between Brett Favre and his Wranglers, yet.

It's going to be hard looking at those Brett Favre Wrangler ads anymore without rolling the eyes as "Bad To The Bone" plays in the background.

But so far, Wrangler's keeping Favre at the center of its ad strategy despite the sexting allegations hanging over the quarterback like a cloud.

Favre still pops up in the spot where George Thoroughgood growls his hit song. And he's part of Wrangler's homepage promotion.

How long any of that lasts will likely depend on whether the accusations prove true, whether the NFL punishes him, or whether charges or a lawsuit are filed against him.

So far, none of that has happened.

But for a taste of what might be in the offing, at the very least think about Pittsburgh Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger. After he was accused but never charged with sexual assault, and suspended by the NFL for six games, one his sponsors dropped him like a hot potato.

There's Tiger Woods for an example, too. Nike investors have taken a beating since Woods and his wife, Elin Nordegren, broke up when Woods' was outed as a serial philanderer. AT&T and Gillette held him at arm's length without actually dropping him. And TheStreet.com estimates that fiasco cost $23 million to $30 million in endorsement deals last year.

And some of Kobe Bryant's sponsors, including McDonald's, abandoned him after he was charged -- but never convicted -- in 2003 with sexual assault in Colorado. But his star power overcame that loss.

CNBC sports business writer Darren Rovell has opined that Wrangler's silence over Favre is hardly a surprise -- and the right move.

Maybe Favre's not the clean family man we pictured him to be, but there's nothing there that makes it a natural for Wrangler to sever its deal with him.

Crisis management PR man Glenn Selig sees things differently.

"They may be comfortable, but Brett Favre apparently dropped his Wranglers to take the racy photos--or at least that's what the late night jokes will be," he says. "Do you really want that if you're Wrangler?"

Here's that Wrangler spot:

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