I recently found out that 50 Cent (aka Curtis Jackson) is an official "Celebrity Partner " of the World Food Programme (WFP). ABC Nightline even reported on 50 Cent's recent trips to Somalia and Kenya. In just a few minutes, the ABC coverage highlights what can go wrong with celebrity endorsements. Something about a group of Somalian refugee children rapping "In Da Club" just makes me feel uneasy.
ABC points out that originally WFP was initially reluctant to accept 50 Cents' donation, but money talks so of couse they did. This may be the worst PR move they've made in decades. First, the ABC story talks about how much money 50 Cent has donated and how he wants to live a more meaningful life and leave a legacy as more than a guy who had a few hit songs. Isn't that lovely? Then ABC casually mentions that 50 Cent contributes to WFP by donating a percentage of profits from each can of his new energy drink. You would think that the logical next step in the coverage would be for the ABC journalist/producers to at least mention that this is an extremely self-serving for 50 Cent, who not only can use the WFP name to sell overpriced unhealthy drinks but also benefits from all of the press.
But no, here's the kicker: The only "issue" ABC Nightline has with this partnership is that working with WFP could damage 50 Cent's "Bad Boy" Reputation. Are you freaking kidding me?! That is the only problem you see with this? They bring this criticism up at least 3 times, even asking 50 Cent if he is concerned about the "harm" that his humanitarian work could cause his image. Seriously, this has got to be a huge practical joke. But it raises a good question: Should NGOs reject money from celebrities whose image could harm their agency's credibility? I'm not sure. If that money can save lives, than of course they should, but maybe they don't need to make a huge deal of it and bring a massive camera crew into a refugee camp. The funniest part for me was the picture above: the baby even feels uncomfortable with 50 Cent being there, and the producers clearly thought this was good footage to include.
To watch the coverage, click on this link: http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/africa-50-cent-humanitarian-rapper-children-music-15788960?fb_ref=.T0v1CFk3ry0.like&f
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