With the latest news about Tiger Woods being dropped by huge brands like Gatorade and Accenture, it begs the question… are celebrity advertising endorsements just too big of a financial risk?

Current advertising trends would suggest the answer is “yes.”

In the past, there has been a lot of money made on celebrity advertising endorsements. But along with the successes, there have been an equal number of heartbreaks.

One such heartbreak was Michael Vick. After being convicted on dog fighting charges, not only did Reebok stop production of his jersey, Nike pulled his contract and had to cancel the release of his shoe, “Air Zoom Vick V” which was already in production.

Another celebrity endorsement gone wrong was between Celine Dion and Chrysler. After signing a three year, $14 million dollar deal with the singer (which their ad agency BBDO advised against), Chrysler dumped Celine from their ad campaign. Turns out the only sales that increased were for the singer and not for the Chrysler Pacifica she was endorsing.

On the other hand, sometimes, despite a scandal, a celebrity endorsement can still be lucrative. Take Michael Jordan as an example. His partnership with Nike and production of “Air Jordans” brought in millions of dollars for the company despite his many indiscretions including both adultery and gambling.

So, you ask, what will happen to Tiger Woods? Is he too big of a risk to keep as a brand ambassador? According to a poll by Bloomberg, since the fall-out, Tiger Woods has dropped from 6th to 24th in popularity among consumers. Along with Gatorade and Accenture, both AT&T and Gillette have distanced themselves from the famous golfer.

However, Nike is sticking with Woods (for the moment). In the words of Nike Chairman and co-founder Phil Knight, “I think [Tiger]’s been really great. When his career is over, you’ll look back on these indiscretions as a minor blip.”

Perhaps they recognize that the only thing better than a good celebrity endorsement is a great comeback story.