Sean Diddy Combs stays true to his bad boy image by signing a highly profitable multiyear deal to promote and market Diageo PLC’s Ciroc vodka brand.
As befits a self-respecting hip-hop mogul, Sean Combs has entered a multiyear deal with alcoholic beverages producer Diageo that could be worth more than $100 million for Combs over the course of the deal, if the brand performs, the company said.
Combs will have plenty of say in how the brand does – he will be involved in the whole process of developing Ciroc, from marketing the line of booze to determining where it will be sold.
And while Diddy will have a 50 percent share of the profits, he emphasizes that he is not just a promoter, but rather a “luxury brand builder.”
“It is not an endorsement deal,” Combs told The Associated Press on Tuesday night. “This is something that will have my daily attention.” He added, “I'm not just a celebrity endorser, I'm a brand builder. I'm a luxury brand builder.”
It will also be Diddy’s job to attract “movers and shakers” to the line. “They're looking for something that tastes like their lifestyle,” he explained to the AP. “It's that trendsetter, that hipster, someone who's looking for luxury and looking for something better.”
And the 37-year-old rapper is convinced that Ciroc is precisely that luxurious better product that many would appreciate. “I can't overhype someone into loving vodka,” he said. But once consumers actually taste Ciroc, “I think we can convert a lot of people.”
Combs is no stranger to business, as he already has his own perfume and clothing lines and serves as chief executive of record company Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment.
While promoting his most recent business venture, Ciroc Vodka, with Access Hollywood, Diddy also addressed the October 13 incident outside a New York City hot spot. There were reports at the time that police were investigating the case – Combs had allegedly punched a man – and would charge him with third degree assault and “possibly other misdemeanor charges as well.”
Diddy told Access Hollywood Wednesday: “I got into an argument, I am a human being. I am going to get into an argument. I am making no denial about that, but I did not punch anybody.”
While emphasizing once more that things were “blown out of proportion” and that he did not hit anybody, Combs also added that it is important to him to be a role model.
“I’m staying focused on being a role model and you know, being somebody that all my grandmas and aunties out there can be proud of and tell their kids to look up to you.”