Celebrities endorse the weirdest things

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Celebrities are weird creatures. They claim they never want to be in the spotlight, but then they try their best to attract the attention of paparazzi and gossip columnists. Whether they’re out on a night on the tiles or simply popping down to their local supermarket, the less glamorous the shot, the more attention they get.

Increasingly over the last few years, celebrities and high-profile figures have turned to endorsing a range of different products and services to help supplement their bank balances. Some celebrities know they have a short life span and therefore have started to diversify their celeb portfolio – no longer just a singer or an actor, but a brand ambassador for certain products.

Some endorsements have cemented particular celebrities in the back of our minds whenever we think of the product. Recent successes include Thierry Henri’s “VaVaVoom” Renault Clio adverts, Gary Lineker appearing as the face of Walkers crisps, and Bob Harris’s sultry adverts for Suntory Whisky. Unfortunately others have ended up a laughing stock of the advertising community and leave everyone scratching their heads as to why they even decided to endorse the product in the first place.


Justin Bieber’s line of nail varnish
Known for causing what has been called “this generation’s Beatlemania” with his song ‘Baby’, Justin Bieber collaborated with a popular women’s cosmetic company to create a line of nail varnishes in 2010. Available exclusively at American superstore Wal-Mart, the pop prince’s collection of colours ranged from ‘One Less Lonely Girl (lavender)’ to ‘OMG! (red). Hoping to attract the attention of celebrity news sources, the attempt fell flat on its face after being a less than successful stab at spreading ‘Bieber Fever’.

Compare holidays with Jedward
The annoying celebrity twins were an odd choice for a travel price comparison site where they fronted a £15m advertising campaign. Nevertheless the adverts were a success for the company after running on various television channels last year. Thankfully the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the advert from our screens after Travelsupermarket.com was found to have misled customers about how much they could save when using their service. The ASA said that the amount of money a customer could save was too ambiguous.


Hello… is it me you’re looking for?
An endorsement that celebrity gossip columnists considered the most bizarre of the year featured music legend, Lionel Richie. That’s right, the UK’s most popular snack manufacturer managed to snag the soul legend and got him to adapt his song ‘Say You, Say Me’ as part of a massive marketing push for Walkers’ new line of “Extra Crunchy” crisps. Starring with the famous crisp meanie, Gary Lineker, the adverts saw the singer attempting to pinch crisps from the ever-escaping ex-footballer.

Celebrity endorsements have now become a common sight on our television screens, with many different brands vying for the backing of the latest Hollywood star or chart-topping singer. Some celebrities like poking fun at themselves for the sake of advertising a product – and for the cash, of course.

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