***UPDATE***
Kobe ad career is dribbling off
By CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Kobe Bryant can't be lovin' it.
McDonald's has dumped the Los Angeles Lakers star as a pitchman - the second big-bucks endorsement Bryant has lost since he was accused of raping a Colorado hotel worker.
The fast-food company did not mention Bryant's legal problems, saying only that its three-year agreement with him, which paid an estimated $500,000 a year, expired on New Year's Eve and was not renewed.
The decision by McDonald's, which is in the midst of a new "I'm lovin' it" campaign that features Justin Timberlake, came several months after Ferrero of Italy, the maker of Nutella chocolate spread, dumped Bryant.
"McDonald's basically had no choice," said Steve Rosner of 16W Marketing in East Rutherford, N.J. "At this moment, there is no upside to them being associated with Kobe Bryant."
Bryant's wholesome image was shattered in July when a 19-year-old woman accused him of rape. A married father of a baby girl, Bryant said the sex was consensual.
Bryant still has a five-year contract with Nike Inc. that's worth about $40 million and a deal with Coca-Cola Co. to endorse Sprite. But Nike has delayed its planned Feb. 8 launch of a shoe designed for Bryant, and the soft-drink maker has not used Bryant in any ads since he was charged - and that contract expires next year.