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‘Subway guy’ not alone; other painful pitchman troubles

In this May 28, 2014 photo, Subway restaurant spokesman Jared Fogle arrives at the world premiere of "Maleficent" at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. Fogle has agreed to plead guilty to allegations that he paid for sex acts with minors and received child pornography that he knew had been secretly produced by the former director of his charitable foundation, federal prosecutors said in court documents released Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015. His guilty plea marks one of the biggest downfalls of a famous pitchman. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
In this May 28, 2014 photo, Subway restaurant spokesman Jared Fogle arrives at the world premiere of "Maleficent" at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. Fogle has agreed to plead guilty to allegations that he paid for sex acts with minors and received child pornography that he knew had been secretly produced by the former director of his charitable foundation, federal prosecutors said in court documents released Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015. His guilty plea marks one of the biggest downfalls of a famous pitchman. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP) In this May 28, 2014 photo, Subway restaurant spokesman Jared Fogle arrives at the world premiere of "Maleficent" at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. Fogle has agreed to plead guilty to allegations that he paid for sex acts with minors and received child pornography that he knew had been secretly produced by the former director of his charitable foundation, federal prosecutors said in court documents released Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015. His guilty plea marks one of the biggest downfalls of a famous pitchman. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

By Associated Press 3 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – “Subway guy” Jared Fogle has agreed to plead guilty to allegations that he paid for sex with minors and received child pornography, prosecutors say, marking one of the biggest downfalls ever for a corporate pitchman.

Fogle’s case is unusual because of how closely Fogle’s regular-guy persona was tied to the sandwich chain – he wasn’t a celebrity for any other reason than his Subway diet weight loss. But it again illustrates the risk companies take when tying their names to real people they can’t totally control.

Here are five other instances of celebrities bringing scandal to their corporate backers.

LANCE ARMSTRONG

After the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released a report detailing allegations of doping by Armstrong, the once-celebrated cancer survivor saw his sponsorship deals vanish. Nike, Anheuser-Busch, 24 Hour Fitness and Trek Bicycle were among the companies that dropped him.