When it comes to celebrity brand endorsements, certain celebrities are willing to do anything if it gets them some publicity and a nice paycheck. On the other hand, there are brands that are willing to work with any celebrity as long as it gets them the promotion for their products. And that’s how celebrity brand endorsements are born! There are some celebrity brand endorsements that make sense, and others… not so much. Sometimes the shock factor is better for business, anyway. Check out some of the strangest celebrity brand endorsements.
The Importance of Celebrity Brand Endorsements
For a lot of brands, celebrity endorsements are very important to their success. Of course, it’s important for marketing for the brand, which increases brand recognition. Depending on how popular the celebrity is, it could also increase the brand’s popularity. When a brand endorsement between a company and an unlikely celebrity seems like it doesn’t make sense, it could be the brand trying to reach a wider audience. It’s a risky choice, but it just might work.
Kim Kardashian – Charmin
Everyone has to start somewhere, and that includes Kim Kardashian. Back in 2010, she was approached by Charmin (yes, the toilet paper company) to not only promote their products, but also their new public restrooms in Times Square, according to The Sun. They even had her appear in New York to cut the ribbon for the official opening of the new toilets. It might not make sense to us, but apparently it made sense to someone at the time.
Ozzy Osbourne – I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
Ozzy Osbourne might be known as the Prince of Darkness, but apparently, said prince also does commercials for butter, or butter substitute, rather. Back in 2006, Ozzy appeared in a British commercial for I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. The goal of the ad was to relaunch the product in England, according to Ozzy’s website. While it’s an odd pairing, it did make for a pretty cool commercial.
Snoop Dogg – Hot Pockets
Apparently, Snoop Dogg must have a thing for Hot Pockets as he endorsed the brand back in 2012. Snoop took his hit song “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and remixed it for Hot Pockets, creating “Pocket Like It’s Hot.” While it might seem like a strange celebrity brand endorsement, Hot Pockets was clearly very excited to have a celebrity of his caliber endorse their product.
According to Vending Market Watch, the brand manager of Nestlé USA, Daniel Jhung, said, “Everyone loves Snoop Dogg because he’s fun and IRRESISTIBLY HOT just like HOT POCKETS. Snoop Dogg brings the concept of irresistibly hot to life. No matter where Snoop is, he’s able to enjoy Hot Pockets, no matter how outrageous or unconventional the setting.”
Muhammad Ali – d-Con Roach Traps
Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest boxers of all time, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t get asked to do silly celebrity product endorsements. Back during the 1980s, Muhammad Ali appeared in a TV commercial for d-Con roach traps. According to PCT Online, in the commercial, Ali is punching a punching bag before turning to the audience and telling them that while he’s not afraid of anything with two legs but, “even The Greatest needs help with things with six legs (roaches).”
Tom Hiddleston – Centrum Silver
We can’t talk about strange celebrity endorsements without mentioning Tom Hiddleston’s endorsement of Centrum Silver vitamins. Centrum Silver is a brand of vitamins in the United States. However, the company decided that they wanted to use Tom Hiddleston as a brand ambassador to bring it to China. We can’t like that Tom Hiddleston seems like an odd choice to promote vitamins, but some executive somewhere thought it was a great idea.
Penelope Cruz – Nintendo
In 2012, Penélope Cruz and her sister Mónica appeared in a commercial for Nintendo. The two actresses appear in a commercial for the New Super Mario Bros. 2 game. In the commercial, the two take a bet on who will reach the Goal Pole. It was Penelope who ended up dressed up head to toe in a Mario costume. Personally, we can’t see the connection between Penelope and Nintendo, but it did make for a cute and funny ad.
JC Chasez – Meow Mix
Former NSYNC member JC Chasez is far from his boyband days since he’s in the latest celebrity brand endorsement that’s a tad bit strange. In 2023, he was featured in a new campaign for the popular cat food brand Meow Mix. According to Billboard, the company took JC’s background in 90s boy bands and recreated the popular Meow Mix jingle in a boy band style. In the video, five cats are doing a dance to the jingle, with JC joining them later as a nod to NSYNC.
Lisa Rinna – Depends
Actress and member of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Lisa Rinna, was willing to put her pride aside in 2015 and do a commercial for Depends adult incontinence products. Lisa Rinna has said before that she would do anything for money, and that must include product endorsements for companies that not every celebrity would be willing to jump at. According to Bravo, a portion of her endorsement fee was also donated to a charity she supports, Dress for Success.
Bob Dylan – Victoria’s Secret
As far as strange celebrity endorsements, Bob Dylan’s Victoria’s Secret ad from 2004 is definitely up there. It’s no secret what Victoria’s Secret is trying to sell and promote; it’s just weird that they chose Bob Dylan to do it. While we’re not sure why he was chosen for the ad, The Cut pointed out that back in 1965, Bob Dylan was asked, “If you were going to sell out to a commercial interest, which one would you choose?” to which he immediately said Ladies’ garments. Looks like dreams do come true.
Helen Mirren – Wii Fit
While we don’t really associate Helen Mirren with video games, she was chosen in 2010 to endorse Wii Fit. At the time, Nintendo was trying to market their new game to everyone, any person, any age. According to NBC News, Helen Mirren was paid approximately $800,000 to appear in the ad. In all honesty, for that amount of money, we would appear in anything Nintendo wanted us to be in. How could you turn down that big paycheck?
When it comes to celebrity brand endorsements, some might make sense for a partnership while others might not. In our opinion, it’s those strange collaborations that really get people talking, which is exactly what these companies want!
