# Could a "Pop Celebrity" be created out of whole cloth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2014, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849 "2014-05-20T17:53:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/1 "2014-05-20T17:53:47Z")
Let’s say we invent a name like…“CeAsia”, then start posting about this fictional person and their antics on various websites. How far could we possibly get before the bubble bursts? ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/2 "2014-05-20T17:57:42Z")
We might need to take fake pictures. I think few people who get invested with celebrities would get interested before they’ve seen pics. Of course, I’m old enough to remember the Allegra Coleman Esquire Magazine hoax. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/3 "2014-05-20T17:58:47Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Let’s say we invent a name like…“CeAsia”, then start posting about this fictional person and their antics on various websites. How far could we possibly get before the bubble bursts? It would be interesting to try; I’d give it a swing. But if you really want to do it, of course you can no longer use the name “CeAsia” (which is cacophonous, anyway) and need to have the discussion with a limited number of person via a non-Googlable medium. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/4 "2014-05-20T17:58:53Z")
They did that (or something like it) in 2011, with [Aimi Eguchi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aimi_Eguchi), ostensibly then a new member of the group AKB48 who turned out to be a CGI creation. And of course, Lady Gaga is actually a test-bed for Disney’s next-gen animatronics. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/5 "2014-05-20T18:07:29Z")
James Tiptree, Jr. wrote a short story based in part on this premise, called “The Girl who was Plugged In”. It’s a future world where advertising has been officially banned… so the advertising companies manufacture celebrities from whole cloth, who can then just happen to be seen using particular products. The main character, Philadelphia (re-named “Delphi”), is such a celebrity, and ends up engaged to some minor European prince before things start falling apart. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/6 "2014-05-20T18:09:19Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > It would be interesting to try; I’d give it a swing. But if you really want to do it, of course you can no longer use the name “CeAsia” (which is cacophonous, anyway) and need to have the discussion with a limited number of person via a non-Googlable medium. Of course-That’s why I said _like_ “CeAsia”. “Ce Lo Phane” is out, too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/7 "2014-05-20T19:57:15Z")
Try CeA$ia ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/8 "2014-05-20T20:11:45Z")
Milli Vanilli was a pop duo of singers hired for their looks and ability to dance. Turns out that their albums were sung by others. It did not end well. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/9 "2014-05-20T20:46:04Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/10 "2014-05-20T21:21:42Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Let’s say we invent a name like…“CeAsia”, then start posting about this fictional person and their antics on various websites. How far could we possibly get before the bubble bursts? They didn’t bother to invent a backstory for [Hatsune Miku](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatsune_Miku); everyone knows she is CG and no one cares (or that’s part of the attraction). ETA: In case someone doesn’t think Hatsune Miku is a bona fide pop star: > [@](#): > > Hatsune Miku will be the opening act for Lady Gaga’s world tour ArtRave: The Artpop Ball, performing throughout the first month of her tour from May 6 to June 3, 2014. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/11 "2014-05-20T21:24:58Z")
There was also the horrid movie [S1m0ne](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0258153/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1), which was at least tangential to your idea. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/12 "2014-05-20T21:25:07Z")
You could call him Captain Tuttle. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/13 "2014-05-20T21:29:02Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Milli Vanilli was a pop duo of singers hired for their looks and ability to dance. Turns out that their albums were sung by others. It did not end well. And my wife paid to see them in concert. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/14 "2014-05-20T21:38:40Z")
Aimi Eiguchi and Hatsune Miku were predated as virtual idols by [Date Kyoko](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,287972,00.html). ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/15 "2014-05-20T21:51:01Z")
I’ve seen an interesting [documentary](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0531070/) about a similar concept being tried in the early 70s… ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/16 "2014-05-20T21:52:02Z")
George Plimpton (writing for Sports Illustrated) did it as an April Fool’s joke in the 1980s. He created a guy named Sid Finch (IIRC), a Mets pitching prospect who could throw 160-mph fastballs. Lots of people got fooled. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/17 "2014-05-20T22:20:31Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > They didn’t bother to invent a backstory for [Hatsune Miku](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatsune_Miku); everyone knows she is CG and no one cares (or that’s part of the attraction). > > ETA: In case someone doesn’t think Hatsune Miku is a bona fide pop star: Not to mention her hugely successful live concerts in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Los Angeles, her international endorsement deals (including Toyota) and the thousands of songs and videos on YouTube and NicoNico. For the unwashed, this 60 second spot sums up who and what she is: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/MGt25mv4-2Q/hqdefault.jpg "Google Chrome : Hatsune Miku (初音ミク)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGt25mv4-2Q) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-pop-celebrity-be-created-out-of-whole-cloth/688849/18 "2014-05-21T00:52:52Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Of course, I’m old enough to remember the Allegra Coleman Esquire Magazine hoax. 😉 You know that was only 1996 right? A long time ago, sure, but not something so ancient that the majority of this board wouldn’t remember it. And how much of a hoax can it be when the model, Ali Larter, actually became a real actress a year later and who still acts in moderately high profile projects today.