Look, everyone has to pay their bills. We all have done or are doing work we are not very keen on. Sometimes, we are doing it just for the Benjamins.
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00:00Celebrity endorsements are not a new phenomenon.
00:03In fact, they've been around pretty much as long as celebrities have.
00:07People in power figured out long ago that putting a familiar face to a product or service
00:11you're trying to sell gets results, though sometimes it can have the opposite effect
00:14on said celebrity.
00:15Sammi Davis
00:16Rat Pack crooner Sammi Davis Jr. became a laughingstock back in the 1970s when he appeared
00:21in a campaign for Alka-Seltzer.
00:22But Sammi's far from being the last celeb to sell out for the sake of a quick buck.
00:34Nobody can blame an up-and-comer for using an established brand to widen their audience.
00:39But when Hollywood A-listers and legends of music start to pop up in commercials for ice
00:42cream and underwear, it becomes clear that some celebs will just never have deep enough
00:47pockets.
00:48Scarlett Johansson
00:49Scarlett Johansson for SodaStream
00:51All she did was mix some plain water with bubbles and add a dash of flavor, yet instead
00:55of a refreshing beverage, Scarlett Johansson stirred up a media storm.
00:59"...like most actors, my real job is saving the world."
01:02The A-list beauty's eight-year relationship with the charity Oxfam came to an ugly end
01:06when she appeared in a commercial for SodaStream against their wishes.
01:09The humanitarian organization was unhappy that their ambassador was supporting an Israeli
01:14company that they claim operates illegally in the occupied West Bank.
01:18Oxfam said in a statement that while they, quote, "...respect the independence of our
01:21ambassadors," Ms. Johansson's role promoting the company SodaStream is incompatible with
01:26her role as an Oxfam Global Ambassador.
01:29Oxfam believes that businesses, such as SodaStream, that operate in settlements, "...further the
01:33ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support."
01:37For her part, Johansson came out swinging in an interview with The Observer, saying,
01:41"...I was aware of that particular factory before I signed, and it still doesn't seem
01:45like a problem, at least not until someone comes up with a solution to the closing of
01:49that factory and leaving all those people destitute."
01:52Which is exactly what happened in February 2016 when SodaStream closed the controversial
01:57factory, leaving 500 employees jobless.
02:01George Clooney for Nespresso
02:03For over a decade, George Clooney has been the face of highbrow Swiss coffee brand Nespresso,
02:07a company that manufactures dispensing machines to be used with their coffee pods.
02:12While some of the ads have been mildly amusing at best, most have been irritatingly smug,
02:16or just plain weird.
02:18As ideas dried up, the company tapped special guests, including Jack Black, Ian McShane,
02:22and Danny DeVito, who joined the Silver Fox for Nespresso's first-ever U.S. commercial.
02:27Nespresso?
02:29What else?
02:30Double what else?
02:33My thank you."
02:35But his long relationship with the brand backfired on him in 2016 when, according to the Daily
02:40Mail, the long-term cost of convenient coffee was revealed.
02:44Researchers fear that as the popularity of coffee pods rises, the discarded packaging
02:48will end up in landfills, with experts predicting that the plastic and aluminum containers will
02:53take 500 years to break down.
02:56This left Clooney, who has outspoken on global warming and appeared on the very first green
03:00issue of Vanity Fair, in a position where he's pocketed millions at the detriment of
03:04the planet.
03:05Talk about selling your soul.
03:07Janet for Aniston for Emirates
03:10There's a fine line between parroting your fame and fortune…
03:13"...How are my little triplets doing?"
03:15…and just straight-up rubbing your elite status in the faces of average Joes everywhere.
03:20Jennifer Aniston crossed that line big time with her ad campaign for Dubai-based airline
03:24Emirates.
03:25According to Daily Mail, the Friends star was paid $5 million to become the new brand
03:29ambassador of the luxury international carrier, whose first-class ticket for a round trip
03:34from New York to Dubai costs an eye-watering $25,000.
03:38The fact that a rich actress was promoting the jet-set lifestyle wasn't necessarily the
03:42problem.
03:43It was the way that she did it that shocked and angered viewers.
03:46The ad makes a mockery out of everyone who doesn't shell out $25,000 for tickets, painting
03:51economy class as a hellish experience, because there isn't a lounge or a shower.
03:56"...There's no shower?"
03:57"...No."
03:58"...And you have no lounge?"
03:59"...No lounge."
04:00"...Why are you laughing like that?"
04:01"...You're killing me."
04:02"...No shower."
04:04Well, it turns out that showcasing how much it sucks to be poor wasn't the greatest marketing
04:11strategy in the world.
04:12As one YouTube commenter wrote,
04:14"'Snobbiest ad ever.'
04:15Talk about first-world 1%er problems."
04:19Nicole Kidman for Etihad Airways
04:21Kidman's ad for United Arab Emirates state-owned carrier Etihad Airways wasn't quite as in-your-face
04:26about the class gap when it comes to flying.
04:29But Kidman found herself facing backlash over a different issue — women's rights.
04:33The actress clearly didn't think twice when the super-rich airline came calling with a
04:36blank check, though seeing as she had been a U.N. goodwill ambassador for women since
04:412006, she really ought to have done her research.
04:44"...Their goal isn't to improve on what has been done before, but to totally re-imagine
04:51it."
04:52But as it turned out, the brand could have used some re-imagining.
04:56The story caught fire when the Association of Professional Flight Attendants called for
04:59Kidman to step away from the company, claiming that bosses at Etihad have fired female employees
05:04for becoming pregnant.
05:06Their statement read,
05:07"'We urge you, on behalf of the women and girls that you spoke of so eloquently on International
05:11Women's Day, not to play a part in promoting Etihad Airways, a company that imposes abusive
05:16labor practices on its female employees and whose sole owner is a government that stands
05:21against the very world that you imagine.'"
05:23Alec Baldwin for Capital One
05:26Alec Baldwin's involvement with Capital One landed him in the hot seat, mainly because
05:30he has always claimed to be such an outspoken critic of corporate greed and champion of
05:33progressive politics.
05:35When Baldwin showed up at the Occupy Wall Street protest in 2011 to show his support
05:39for those fighting for financial equality, he was hounded by members of the grassroots
05:43movement We Are Change, who wouldn't let him cross Manhattan Park without answering a few
05:47questions.
05:48According to Daily Mail, Baldwin refused to publicly endorse Republican Congressman Ron
05:53But he did tell those gathered that the Securities and Exchange Commission are, quote,
05:57"'totally in the pockets of the banks,' ignoring the irony in the fact that he was currently
06:01sitting comfortably in the deep, velvety pocket of Capital One, which received $3.5 billion
06:07in the Wall Street bailout."
06:08Baldwin was labeled a hypocrite and a limousine liberal by critics, forcing him to tweet,
06:13"'I donated all of my fee from Capital One to arts charities.
06:16They have been great partners in my support of the arts.'"
06:19"'What's in your wallet?'
06:20Johnny Rotten for Country Life Butter
06:23John Lydon was the poster boy of the punk rock movement during the late 1970s, fronting
06:28the musically and politically influential British band The Sex Pistols under the stage
06:32name Johnny Rotten.
06:33As the years have passed, Lydon's commitment to the punk lifestyle and what his music stood
06:37for has repeatedly come under scrutiny.
06:39Eyebrows were raised when he appeared on the U.K. version of reality show I'm a Celebrity,
06:44Get Me Out of Here.
06:45But it was his 2008 ad for Country Life Butter that was the final nail in his punk cred's
06:50The commercial features Lydon reeling off several reasons as to why he might like Country
06:54Life Butter before dismissing them all, claiming,
06:57"'I buy Country Life because I think it tastes the best.'"
07:02The Fading Star defended the commercial when he spoke to Camden New Journal about the backlash
07:06from fans, asking,
07:08"'Why are they questioning me?
07:09What manual am I supposed to adopt?
07:11I'm promoting a British product which I'm very proud of.'"
07:15And speaking of products celebs are into…
07:18Bob Dylan for Victoria's Secret
07:20As the ultimate counterculture icon, it seems inconceivable that Bob Dylan would ever do
07:25a commercial for anything.
07:26The folk legend has been annoying fans since the day he first switched to electric guitar
07:30back in 1965, but in 2004, he dealt his reputation its biggest blow to date when he inexplicably
07:36appeared in Victoria's Secret's Angels in Venice campaign.
07:39"'I'm sick of love, I wish I never met you.'"
07:47Why a lingerie line would want to intercut shots of their models with a man old enough
07:50to be their grandfather is anybody's guess, but Dylan got two things out of it — a payday
07:55and some publicity for the memoir he released later that year.
07:58As a fan of the man, all you can do is point to the fact that Dylan did actually state
08:02back in 65 that the only thing he would sell out for were ladies' undergarments.
08:06Decade-spanning practical joke?
08:08Or shameless cash grab?
08:10You decide.
08:11Kiefer Sutherland for José Cuervo
08:14Kiefer Sutherland is said to have funded his move to L.A. with some ad work, posing
08:18for Levi's in the 1980s as an unknown.
08:21He has admitted to having a strained relationship with his father, actor Donald Sutherland,
08:25at the time, and sought to make his own way in the industry.
08:28But by the end of that decade, everyone in Hollywood knew his name, thanks to The Lost
08:32Boys and Young Guns.
08:33Two hundred-plus episodes of 24 later, Sutherland is recognized as one of the industry's most
08:38likable tough guys, an image he doesn't mind parodying for an easy buck.
08:43Filmmaker Acer took advantage of this with their Aspire Ultrabook commercial, dressing
08:47him up like his Jack Bauer character and sending him into supermarkets on the hunt for the
08:51ingredients he needs for… cupcakes.
08:53Where's the icing?
08:54Icing?
08:55Icing for cupcakes.
08:56Oh, it's, uh, right over there.
09:02Not bad, right?
09:03But while you can't blame a young actor for posing in a pair of 501 jeans, or even a successful
09:08actor for parodying himself in a fun way, you can blame Kiefer Sutherland for shilling
09:12a product that almost ruined his life on numerous occasions.
09:16His 2013 spot for Jose Cuervo Tequila plays up the brand's campaign to always have a story
09:21to tell.
09:22The actor is shown living the high-stakes life, in between shots of liquor.
09:26Sutherland has a documented history of alcoholism and public drunkenness, making his decision
09:30to appear in ads for something that so clearly controls his life a total deal with the devil.
09:35But what does he really think about it?
09:37Just don't have any regrets, Cuervo.
09:40Kendall Jenner for Pepsi
09:42Advertisers will often jump on bandwagons in an attempt to make their products seem
09:46as relevant as possible.
09:48But Pepsi admitted that they, quote, missed the mark with their infamous commercial starring
09:51Keeping Up with the Kardashians' kid sis, Kendall Jenner.
09:55The ad shows Jenner walking off a photo shoot to join an ongoing street protest, then handing
09:59one lucky officer a cold soda, which, according to Pepsi, was, quote, to project a global
10:04message of unity, peace, and understanding.
10:08But not many people saw it that way, with advocacy groups like Color of Change firing
10:12off at Jenner on Twitter.
10:13The reality star has failed to respond to the outrage on social media, though a source
10:17close to her told Hollywood Life she had such high hopes for it, and now she's terrified
10:22she will never work again or become a laughingstock.
10:25Pepsi pulled the ad and personally apologized… to Jenner.
10:29That'll probably be the last time she endorses any brands for a while.
10:32Oh wait, there's Estee Lauder.
10:35AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
10:42You got enough going on.