The point of a celebrity endorsement is for the consumer to see an already-familiar face tied to a brand. If the celebrity means something to the consumer, then the company is that much closer to being inside their homes. These endorsements can backfire, especially when the celebrity and the product aren’t a great fit. Here are some of the weirdest celebrity endorsements ever.
Pope Leo XIII endorsed Vin Mariani, a predecessor to Coca-Cola that was laced with cocaine. His holiness would supposedly carry a bottle of the stuff in his robes at all times.
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Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen were once featured in the Got Milk campaign, but the image was pulled once it was revealed Mary Kate was being treated for an eating disorder.
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Before becoming president, Ronald Reagan endorsed Chesterfield cigarettes. I wonder if this conflicted with Nancy Reagan’s “Say No” campaign later on.
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Before his big controversy, OJ Simpson once endorsed Hertz. Hertz understandably wanted to distance themselves from him after 1994.
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Mikhail Gorbachev once endorsed Pizza Hut, appearing in a commercial advertising
“The Edge” pizza, a pie with no crust. First the wall and then pizza crust? This guy truly broke down some barriers.
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In India, wild elephants tend to steal into the alcohol casks, get drunk, and ruin towns. Paris Hilton became the champion of the cause, having ruined a few towns herself over the years.
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Bob Dole used to endorse Viagra. No further comment.
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Ozzy Osbourne was once featured in a I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter commercial. Apparently, a little bit of margarine helps the bats go down easier.
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Teddy Roosevelt gave shotgun manufacturer FoxGuns license to use his face for an advertisement of a shotgun. Roosevelt owned one himself, and said there was “no better gun ever made.”
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Not like anyone’s asking, but I feel like I’d have a hard time endorsing a product I don’t like. It would have to be something I use a lot, like butter.
