Prefer WhistleOut in Google
It’s been a big week for the 365 party girl. On top of a single I’ve been listening to on repeat, Charli xcx has cut a brand deal with tech manufacturer Nothing. I’m happy to see her get that bag as Nothing’s first “Global Brand Ambassador” and newest shareholder, but I also think the partnership genuinely makes sense for both Charli and the manufacturer.
Celebrity endorsements hardly make or break a brand's image, but they can and often do have a lasting impact on the cultural zeitgeist. The George Foreman grill is one such example where a product was irrevocably changed by celebrity endorsement, as the boxer once declared in commercials, "It's so good I put my name on it!". In a similar vein, while Beats often cuts the 'by Dre', the rap mogul is irrevocably entwined with the brand, even if he has largely stepped back these days. His initial involvement gave the fledgling headphone manufacturer credibility where its audio prowess fell short.
On the other hand, remember when Beats released skin-tone-inspired colourways in partnership with Kim Kardashian? Most won't, I only remembered the collaboration because I reviewed them.
The choice of celebrity is paramount. LG arguably made a misstep when it partnered with Will.I.Am to relaunch its Xboom party speaker line. Back in 2024, Will.I.Am wasn't on TV, he didn't have a film coming out, and it had been over a decade since he'd released a solo album. Besides LG Xboom by Will.I.Am being a mouthful, our editor pointed out some problematic associations with generative AI and was also able to name four artists who would've paired with the brand better at the time — one of those was Charli xcx herself.
But LG's loss in Nothing's gain. Charli xcx in partnership with Nothing? A tech brand that is a known disruptor in the smartphone market? That makes perfect sense. Nothing's line of phones, headphones, earbuds and smartwatches stand out in a sea of same-same but a little different. They're playful and unique with an actual point of difference through transparent backings and inspiration from 90s counter cultures.
The brand eschews maximalism in its naming conventions with devices like the "Phone 4A" and "Headphone A" rather than endless appending of adjectives, long sequences of numbers or buzzwords. It gels perfectly with the artist known for her dry humour. The artist who gave us the album called Pop 2.
As Charli xcx has her devoted fans, "the angels", so too Nothing draws on a connection with its loyal customers, the Nothing Community. Where other brands might have a newsroom page with blogs targeted at being picked up by media, Nothing takes an active role in engaging with its community directly on its forums.
The partnership comes at a time when Charli is on the up-and-up, following brat summer with her Wuthering Heights score and her own acting ambitions. Most notable is The Moment, a mockumentary exploring the star's relationship to fame and struggle to stay authentic here.
Light spoilers... One running plot line in the film is a brand collaboration between Charli and a fictional bank to promote its latest credit card — it goes about as well as you'd think.
Back in reality, Charli is proving you can make smart moves. Unlike the plot beat in The Moment, the partnership with Nothing vibes in sync with who Charli is as a performer.
Announcing the partnership on its Nothing Community site, Chief Brand Officer Charlie Smith pointed to an alignment in values between the performer and the brand.
“Charli xcx has spent her entire career rejecting the obvious path, and that’s exactly what Nothing’s philosophy is too," wrote Smith.
"This isn’t a traditional endorsement. She’s a shareholder, a collaborator and someone who shares our belief that technology should be a vehicle for creative expression. Charli is the perfect creative partner to build the future of tech and culture.”
And what does the pop star think?
“Nothing actually feels different to me. I’ve always just wanted to do things on my own terms, and that’s exactly what they’re doing, making stuff with personality that doesn’t look or feel like anything else," said xcx. "A creative partnership and becoming a shareholder just felt like a natural extension of that.”
The brand alignment might be of the moment, but we'll need to wait and see if Charli is a true believer or if she'll slip up and join a long list of awkward celebrity tech endorsement moments and snafus. Former BlackBerry ambassador Alicia Keys was famously caught tweeting from her iPhone, an awkward mishap she blamed on hackers, while a whole host of celebrities have been snapped in public using iPhones while heavily promoting other brands.
A true believer myself, I think Charli and Nothing will be making sweet rock music together.
Dylan Crismale
Digital Content Editor
Related Articles
