It has been a tricky week for celebrity endorsers.

First, Dunkin’ Donuts pulled an online ad featuring Rachael Ray when a blogger created a firestorm over a scarf worn by the celebrity chef, calling it ”hate couture.” The advertisement, with Ray wearing a black and white scarf, ran for a couple of weeks before Dunkin’ Donuts removed it last weekend. Critics said the scarf looked like a keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headdress.

Here’s the response from Ahmed Rehab, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations:”It’s sad that Dunkin’ Donuts pandered to that kind of fear-mongering. They have businesses in the Middle East, in the Arab world. It’s interesting to see how that will affect business there.”

Sharon Stone, the actress, also found herself under criticism this week but for some comments she made in a TV interview rather than anything she was or wasn’t wearing. At Cannes, she said that the earthquake in China may have been “bad karma” related to Beijing’s policies in Tibet.

Stone’s comments prompted Christian Dior SA, the french fashion house, to pull its advertisements in that country that featured her. “Due to some customer reaction we have decided to pull her image from all of the department stores and from all of China,” Christian Dior China said in a statement.

The two situations very are different, to be sure. But the end results were the same – advertisements pulled and brands getting the kind of attention they don’t want.  Tell us, are advertisers being too sensitive, or not sensitive enough?

Keep an eye on:

• The National Hockey League’s Winter Classic outdoor game — which proved to be one of its most popular spectacles in its debut this year — will be played in Chicago’s Wrigley Field baseball park next New Year’s Day, a source familiar with the plans tells Reuters. 
• A consortium including NBC Universal and Blackstone Group bidding for the Weather Channel is offering about $1.8 billion in equity for their bid, or roughly half the total offer, a source familiar with the matter tell Reuters
• YouTube could account for $200 million in revenue this year and $350 million next year. While just 1 percent of Google’s sales, YouTube’s contribution would still be up from ”a minuscule amount” last year (Forbes).

(Photo: Reuters)