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19 Strange Celebrity Endorsements That Will Make You Laugh

One of the reasons our favorite celebs rake in the big bucks is all thanks to big endorsement deals, and it’s become so common to see our favorite stars in commercials for beauty products, cars, and video games. But some of the products that the rich and famous choose to promote tend to seem a little bit.. odd. Did you know there was once an Olsen twins toothpaste?! Check out the weirdest celebrity endorsements EVER here.

1. Jessica Simpson’s Dessert Beauty Treats line

Jessica Simpson, Dessert Treats
Getty Images

The year was 2004 and blonde bubblegum pop stars were still all the rage. Jessica Simpson was at her peak popularity as a pop star turned Newlywed and apparently wanted to capitalize on her sexy but sweet image by releasing a line of edible beauty products (ummm, ick!). The line appeared on Sephora shelves and included lip gloss, whipped body cream, a skin protein shake (eww!), and something called “Deliciously Kissable Belly Button Love Potion Fragrance.” (OMG!) The line received horrible reviews and a few lawsuits, with people saying they tasted great — to bees! Most people ended up getting sick from ingesting the sugary products, and the line was discontinued by 2006. Sorry, Jess!

2. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s AquaFresh BubbleCool toothpaste

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Aquafresh Bubblecool, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen
Aquafresh

When you think of the Olsen twins, don’t you immediately think of toothpaste?! No?! Neither do we, but, once upon a time, the twin powerhouses had wildly successful product lines for basically EVERYTHING including furniture, video games, and of course, fashion. They also wanted to show tweens and teens that brushing your teeth is fun and important, so they released a “minty bubblegum” flavored toothpaste in 2003. Hey, they do have beautiful smiles!

3. Shaquille O’Neill and Bella Thorne’s Cocoa vs. Fruity Pebbles Campaign

https://youtu.be/yU-cQ0bl4_I

When it comes to our favorite pebbly cereal, are you team Fruity or team Cocoa? It’s truly the battle of the century, and Shaquille O’Neill and Bella Thorne, of all people, have firmly taken sides. The basketball icon and the teen star both appeared on boxes of the beloved cereals earlier this year. No word on which breakfast treat won the battle, but we’re voting for team Cocoa!

4. Rihanna for Budweiser

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Rihanna is one of the most successful (and lucrative!) musicians of our time, so we scratched our heads a little when she announced a massive campaign with beer brand Budweiser back in 2013. She appeared in a slew of their ads and they sponsored her concert tour, so the joint campaign worked for all. We’ll drink to that!

5. Britney Spears for Candies

One of the reasons we love Britney so much is that, despite being worth a reported $165 million (!!), she still loves a bargain, and frequently shops at Target and Wal-Mart. So it’s not surprising that she signed on to appear in ads for Candie’s for Kohl’s back in 2010, though it would have been more age appropriate back in her “…Baby One More Time” days. There was a bit of controversy when Britney showed the un-retouched versions of her ads, but it made us love her even more for it.
6. Justin Bieber’s nail polish line for Nicole by OPI
Justin Bieber, Nicole by OPI
Nicole by OPI
In a definitely odd collaboration with Nicole by OPI, Justin Bieber released a line of nail polish, presumably to capitalize on his fame with teens and tweens who love painting their nails. It was a success, given that The One Less Lonely Girl collection sold over 1 million bottles (!!) — and we kinda love the shades. Where can we get “One Less Lonely Glitter?!”
7. Kesha’s line of condoms with LifeStyles
Kesha, Lifestyles
Lifestyles
In a rather ..er, creative, marketing tactic, Kesha gave concert attendees a unique gift — she fired Kesha-branded condoms out of a cannon at each of her shows back in 2011. All for safety, folks!
8. Jennifer Lopez for Fiat cars
 

In a pairing that shouldn’t seem rife for controversy, Jennifer Lopez managed to anger a lot of people by filming this New York-centric ad for Fiat across the country. Yikes! There were other controversies, including that Jennifer reportedly used a body double for many of the shots, and that the car broke down many times during filming. Let’s be real, who actually believed J.Lo drove a Fiat anyway?!

9. Brad Pitt for Pringles

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Nothing’s better than seeing our favorite stars in commercials from before they hit the big time, and this Pringles commercial starring Brad Pitt is no exception! He’s still SO cute!

10. Usher for Honey Nut Cheerios 

https://vimeo.com/104318381

Frankly, we still can’t figure out why Usher agreed to star in commercials for Honey Nut Cheerios, but perhaps he’s super passionate about lowering cholesterol?

11. The Kardashian Kard

Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian
MasterCard

If it seems like the Kardashians will promote anything, it’s probably because they will. Fitness sneakers, workout videos, perfumes, diet pills, and even this short-lived prepaid credit card (ahem, kredit kard). The card was pulled due to insanely high fees and for targeting young people, and the sisters haven’t mentioned the failure since.

12. Ariana Grande for Wat-AAH!

https://youtu.be/ac4sUAKB_fc

Ariana Grande said she partnered with Wat-AAH! because she’s serious about health… so serious, that she denounced donuts and blamed them for the obesity problem in America. Yikes!

13. Katy Perry for The Sims 3

Katy Perry and The Sims teamed up to create a virtual reality Candy Land back in 2012, which probably excited only Katy Perry fans and candy addicts. But this wasn’t the first time a pop act paired with a popular video game — Britney Spears, *N Sync, and the Spice Girls all had video games, too!

14. Ozzy Osbourne’s ad for I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter

It’s safe to say NO ONE equates baking with Ozzy Osbourne, but perhaps that’s why his endorsement with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter was so genius. Ozzy appeared in the ad for the faux buttery spread a few years after he won America (and the rest of the world) over as the bumbling reality TV dad on The Osbournes. Oh, Ozzy, we’ll always love you!

15. Penélope Cruz for Nintendo DS

Yep, believe it! In 2012, Penélope Cruz (along with her sister Monica) starred in a series of ads for Nintendo DS, which featured her dressed as beloved Nintendo character Mario. I wonder if Penélope still busts out her DS to break up the boredom on long flights?

16. Paris Hilton for Carl’s Jr./Hardees

Everybody knows that sex sells, and fast food chain Carl’s Jr. clearly believes that sex sells EVERYTHING and anything, because they featured socialite Paris Hilton in some scandalous ads in 2005. The blonde beauty was featured writhing around in a bathing suit, washing a car (as you do) and chowing down on a juicy burger. The ad was met with much criticism due to its suggestive nature, and Paris reprised her role for a 2014 reboot. That’s hot!

17. Kris Jenner’s ads for Poise pantyliners

We all know that her daughters have lent their names and famous faces to basically everything, but this time, Kris Jenner capitalized on what could be a quite, er, embarrassing problem, by turning it into a lucrative business deal. That’s right — the momager with an (apparently) leaky bladder was a spokesperson for Poise pantyliners, appearing in an ad as Rosie the Riveter. She even devoted an entire episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians to the issue, and daughter Khloe quipped “leave it to my mom to turn a problem into a business deal!”

18. 50 Cent’s ad for Vitamin Water

At first glance, it seems odd that a rapper would promote a sports drink like Vitamin Water. But 50 Cent is well-known for being a total health nut — he’s admitted, after growing up around alcoholics and drug addicts, that he’s committed to fitness and living a healthy lifestyle (I mean, have you seen those abs?!) so it makes sense that he’d collaborate with Vitamin Water. It seemed to be a match made in muscular heaven, because 50 became Vitamin Water’s first celebrity endorser in exchange for a $5 million fee and a 5% equity stake in the company. He reportedly walked away with nearly $100 million! Go shorty, it’s ya birthday!

19. Jamie Lee Curtis for Activia

Jamie Lee Curtis is an acclaimed actress and an iconic Scream Queen, but even she struggles with “digestive irregularities.” Yep, awkward, we know, but Jamie Lee has appeared in ads for the yogurt brand regularly (sorry, we had to!) since 2007. And yogurt is known to be extremely good for us, so thanks Jamie Lee!

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