BlackBerry is trying desperately to regain its foothold as the coolest smart phone, and it enlisted the help of singer Alicia Keys.

But it didn't take long for the campaign to stumble.

At a press event on Wednesday in New York, BlackBerry unveiled a new phone as well as a rebranding—it will no longer be known as Research in Motion, now it’s just BlackBerry. The company also announced Keys as its new global creative director to help “inspire the future” of the company. She hit the right notes saying she and BlackBerry were "exclusively dating" despite having previously dumped the device for “hotter, sexier phones.”

Perhaps she didn't make a clean break with that sexy ex. The singer's @AliciaKeys Twitter account—complete with 11 million followers—shows that she sent tweets from her iPhone. Plus, she's using Instagram, an application that is not available on BlackBerry phones.

"Perhaps, Ms. Keys' relationship with her new phone blossomed only very recently," said a New York Times blog, guessing that the cause might be that the new phone is not officially available. The gaffe was evident on the singer’s feed, including this comment from @jesseOguns: “But @aliciakeys has been tweeting from iPhone. When is she getter her blackberry? I saw only one tweet (of) the last 20 from blackberry.”

Celebrity endorsements are nothing new, and neither is actually hiring them within the company. Recently, Intel named singer Will.i.am as director of creative innovation, and The Honest Company hired Jessica Alba.

At the press conference, BlackBerry launched its new operating systems and two new devices designed to gain back market share. The company has faced steep market share loss to Apple and Android handset phones, and the BlackBerry 10 is viewed by many to be the company's last shot at winning over buyers.

Maybe BlackBerry can begin by converting their new global creative director.

Gil Rudawsky heads the crisis communication and issues management practice at GroundFloor Media in Denver. He is a former reporter and editor. Read his blog or contact him at grudawsky@groundfloormedia.com.

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