Nobody Wears Rocawear, Not Even Jay-Z

Anyone who's been alive for the past decade saw this one coming…Rocawear, the clothing company Jay-Z co-founded with producer Damon Dash in 1999, is having some rough times.  The brand has laid-off half its staff.  To be honest, I can't even believe the brand still exists.  What's more, no one cares – not even Jay-Z. From the New York Post:

"Jay-Z, formerly a ‘big presence’ in the office, rarely shows up anymore, an insider told The Post. ‘It’s kind of like he’s given up on the brand,’ the source added.  While Jay-Z retained an interest in Rocawear as part of the deal, his contractual obligations to the brand have expired and the rapper has since refused to promote it amid steady, double-digit sales drops, sources said."

The company, Iconix Group, bought the brand at its height in 2007.  Since then, the brand has been on a steep decline in popularity.  Iconix has had trouble with managing brands like Ed Hardy, through poor brand management and over licensing.

It's okay Jay-Z, focus on your new baby…I think you'll find a way to pay her college tuition.

Nicki Minaj, Adam Levine and Jay-Z Perform as Beyonce and Orlando Bloom Watch

The Victoria Secret Fashion show is arguably the most popular, widely seen, and most highly regarded infomercial in the world!  With 9 million viewers, last year's event was an advertising success for CBS.  From The Hollywood Reporter:

"It's one giant PR stunt," says Linda Ong, president of branding firm Truth Consulting. "It's about getting people to keep this very mass-market brand top-of-mind. The celebrities, the million-dollar bra. They always have some model who just had a baby, and so it's all about how much weight she lost. It's a pseudo-event. But because of the PR machine, people cover it likes it's news."

Nicki Minaj, Maroon 5 (Adam Levine), Jay-Z, and Kanye will perform on stage alongside super models (and celebrities in their own right) Miranda Kerr, and Lily Aldridge, while Beyonce and Orlando Bloom watch from the front row of the audience.  All of these celebrities provide an unbelievable assortment of Celebrity Endorsements for the lingerie brand. Watch Tonight on CBS.

Forbes Top Couple – Gisele and Tom – Celebrity Endorsements

They are beautiful and Tom and Gisele's company at the table for highest paid celebrity couples isn't bad either – including Beyonce and Jay Z, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, David and Victoria Beckham and Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

Fortune reports that Tom and Gisele are both bringing in major bucks with a total of 76 million dollars this year.  And, it's not just Gisele walking down the runways and Tom tossing a football that keeps this family paid.  She's a savvy business woman bringing in the majority of the dollars, 45 million to be exact, through endorsement deals and business ventures in the US and abroad.  Tom's 76 million for 4 years certainly helped adding 19 million to their total for the year, the remainder brought in through endorsement deals he's made.

The rest of the list credits the majority of the celeb's earnings to endoresement and business ventures as well (with the exception of the tinsle town toddlers of the bunch Pattinson and Stewart).  Which all goes to show celebrity is becoming a starting off point for estute business men and women to creating their branding empires.