Bally’s to be “Speared”?

Now I think I’ve seen it all. As if Bally’s hasn’t had enough problems, a recent blog on iVillage reports that the company is considering making Britney Spears its next spokesperson.

Is this a joke? I can’t think of a worse spokesperson for a fitness facility chain than Spears. With all of her boozing, drug use, lack of morals and just plain loser of a persona, is this the kind of image Bally’s wants to associate itself with? And, don’t they realize that by Bally’s associating with Spears, it translates to Spears being associated with the fitness industry as a whole?

I get the reasoning behind health club operators wanting to associate their brand with a celebrity, but while Spears’ name may be big, it’s big for all the wrong reasons. If Bally’s execs think that she’s really going to make a turnaround just because she’s working out every day, they better not count on it. And, even if she did, her reputation is what it is, even if a bunch of foolish young people do consider her an “idol.”

Maybe this is all a bunch of hype with no truth to it, and let’s hope so. Because this could be another “spear” in the back, not just for Bally’s, but for our industry, as well.