All Justin Bieber wanted from BlackBerry was $200,000 and 20 devices and he would be glad to be the company’s Ambassador. But the officials of the company, then known Research In Motion (RIM), thought it was a bad idea. Fifteen million sales of album after and $55 million earnings in the last twelve months, Bieber was no longer the rising star he was when he made the offer.

A former executive has revealed that BlackBerry snubbed Bieber’s offer to be its new face. Vincent Washington served as senior business development manager for RIM from 2001 to 2011 and he recalled in an interview with Bloomberg how BlackBerry rejected the Canadian pop singer.

“One thing we missed out on was that Justin Bieber wanted to rep BlackBerry. He said, “Give me $200,000 and 20 devices, and I’m your brand ambassador,” basically,” Washington was quoted as telling Bloomberg by The Huffington Post.

Some of the officials thought it was an opportunity both for Bieber and the company. But not everyone was on the same boat.

“We pitched that to marketing: Here’s a Canadian kid, he grew up here, all the teeny-boppers will love that,” Vincent added, according to the Huffington Post.

“They basically threw us out of the room. They said, ‘This kid is a fad. He’s not going to last.’ I said at the meeting: ‘This kid might outlive RIM.’ Everyone laughed.”

With Bieber as the ambassador of the smartphone company was the cover story of Bloomberg Businessweek. The article looks back at the oral history of BlackBerry.

A look back at BlackBerry’s history showed that it lost $1 billion in just three months. Looking at the company’s earnings through the years, the Huffington Post said that the “BlackBerry’s valuation has plummeted almost 85% since 2008.” The company has recorded valuation at $4 billion, down from $83 billion in 2008.

Bieber for his part has continued to increase its earnings. The Huffington Post noted that the Canadian teen is currently worth $130 million, earning approximately $55 million in just 12 months. Bieber added the website ranked #9 on Forbes list.

As to the question of whether or not he could have saved BlackBerry from its downfall, critics suggests that with his millions of followers, Bieber has already proven his “product selling-power.” One of the products sold like pancakes is Bieber’s “Someday” perfume, which the Huffington Post said was the “highest-selling celebrity fragrance” in 2011.

Check out Justin Bieber's "Someday" Fragrance commercial in the featurette below.

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Credit: YouTube/JustinBieberSomeday

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