# Most embarassing celebrity endorsement **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 19, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218 "2014-01-19T19:05:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/21 "2014-01-20T00:02:30Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Mr. T did some local ads for some shitty payday lender or pawn shop a few years ago. Gary Coleman did an ad for some payday-lending outfit as well, not long before he passed away. Sad. I hate like hell seeing Alec Trebek doing ads for life insurance (or maybe it’s for reverse mortgages). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/22 "2014-01-20T00:20:48Z")
Matt Harvey (NY Mets Pitcher) signed as an spokesman for Qualcomm and notoriously kept ignoring questions on an interview show [in order to plug the product](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYi0AH3NTHA#t=01m08s). He later apologized. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/23 "2014-01-20T01:15:51Z")
Gorbachev and Pizza Hut. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/24 "2014-01-20T02:50:12Z")
Veronica Cartwright doing feminine hygiene product commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/25 "2014-01-20T05:36:04Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Yeah, but afterwards, the Pepsi commercial was hilarious!.. :: bark :: “Easy, boy.” ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/26 "2014-01-20T13:14:39Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Actually, I think it was far more embarassing for Honda. That’s what I said, albeit indirectly. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/27 "2014-01-20T13:47:23Z")
Slightly off-topic: Many years ago, _ **Mad Magazine** _ did a feature where celebrities were endorsing products they knew nothing about. The only two I remember are “Mickey Mantle says ‘ACME BLAST FURNACES are GREAT!’” and “Jayne Mansfield says ‘No one noticed me until I wore MOXIE MASCARA!’ Now in 40 lovely shades of black!” It was hilarious (if somewhat sad) when Philip Michael Thomas of _ **Miami Vice** _ fame started doing commercials for the Psychic Hotline. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/28 "2014-01-20T14:11:31Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Veronica Cartwright doing feminine hygiene product commercials. Oops, I meant her sister, Angela Cartwright.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/29 "2014-01-20T16:11:17Z")
Every time I think of Suzanne Sommers endorsing the Thigh Master, I remember the sketch on _ **In Living Color** _ when “her” husband walked through the door with his head squished! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bellhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/30 "2014-01-20T17:45:53Z")
Years ago, the late Rosemary Clooney did an ad for _ **Coronet** _ Toilet Paper, singing “_Extra value is what you get, when you use Coronet_.” She had gained a lot of weight in her middle age, and my father, who remembered her as a sexy, husky-voiced babe from the early 1950s, was just floored when it dawned on him that he watching **THE** Rosemary, all blimped out and shilling TP. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/31 "2014-01-20T18:15:50Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I hate like hell seeing Alec Trebek doing ads for life insurance (or maybe it’s for reverse mortgages). Trebek is doing the Colonial Penn commercials. Fred Thompson is hawking reverse mortgages. I guess the takeaway from THAT is _“Don’t even THINK about drafting me to seek the GOP presidential nomination.”_ The ones that start the teeth grinding for me have Hulk Hogan representing Rent-A-Center. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/32 "2014-01-20T21:11:43Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > I mainly remember June Allyson from Depends ads. When I saw “The Glenn Miller Story”, I was stunned a woman that beautiful and classy was stuck doing adult diaper commercials. This was the first one I thought of. The ones with Mickey Rooney and his wife for some insurance company (?) where she does the talking are not so much embarrassing as just really sad. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/33 "2014-01-20T21:53:36Z")
Here’s a very young Courtney Cox for Tampax: [Courtney Cox 1985 Tampax Commercial - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOHCtQfFn7E). I’ve read elsewhere that this was the first American TV ad to mention the word “tampon.” ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/34 "2014-01-20T22:26:15Z")
60s singer Dionne Warwick shilled for the “Psychic Friends Network” in the late 90s / early 00s. She later declared bankruptcy and the PFN went out of business, to the great joy of every late night talk show host, all of whom made sarcastic wisecracks about the psychic friends inability to see THAT coming. For a while in the mid 70s, prior to ST: The Motion Picture, William Shatner was shilling for the supermarket chain Loblaws. He also later shilled for a travel discount web-site that paid him in stock options in lieu of money. Of course, when the internet bubble burst, the options were worthless and so Shatner had basically plugged for the company for free. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/35 "2014-01-20T22:30:38Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > For a while in the mid 70s, prior to ST: The Motion Picture, William Shatner was shilling for the supermarket chain Loblaws. He also later shilled for a travel discount web-site that paid him in stock options in lieu of money. Of course, when the internet bubble burst, the options were worthless and so Shatner had basically plugged for the company for free. He also did Promise margarine back in the '70s. I guess he was worried about his cholesterol levels… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/36 "2014-01-20T23:23:35Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > For a while in the mid 70s, prior to ST: The Motion Picture, William Shatner was shilling for the supermarket chain Loblaws. He also later shilled for a travel discount web-site that paid him in stock options in lieu of money. Of course, when the internet bubble burst, the options were worthless and so Shatner had basically plugged for the company for free. Priceline. The stock dropped as low as $1.80 a share. However, right now it is $1,178 a share. :eek: So the question is when or if he sold any of those shares. CelebrityNetWorth says he’s worth $100 million. TheRichest says he’s worth $650 million. In either event, I don’t think he’s hurting for money, or even slightly embarrassed by doing those commercials. ---
**Author:** ![turtlescanfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@turtlescanfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtlescanfly)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/37 "2014-01-20T23:30:05Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I honestly thought that this thread was opened to decry Honda’s decision to hire Michael Bolton in their cringe-worthy ads. My kids make fun of me because I have a mini rant every time one of these commercials comes on. “And to tell you about it, here’s Mr. Michael Bolton.” I don’t mind the singing…a lot of commercials have some sort of jingle or music. It’s the INTRODUCTION to his 5 second blurb that I find irritating for some reason. I mean, if you have to tell me who this guy is, how much to you think I’ll care that he’s endorsing your product? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/38 "2014-01-21T01:03:49Z")
I actually don’t mind the intro to Bolton’s singing. It’s kind of tongue-in-cheek, kind of meta. Doesn’t just about everyone over age 30 know what he sounds like? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/39 "2014-01-21T03:23:12Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > This was the first one I thought of. > > The ones with Mickey Rooney and his wife for some insurance company (?) where she does the talking are not so much embarrassing as just really sad. The first time I saw that commercial, I thought she was his daughter, or even granddaughter. :smack: Anyone remember the “Suzy Chapstick” commercials in the 1970s? Henry Winkler doing ads for reverse mortgages is quite pathetic too. ---
**Author:** ![amorali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3e96dc/32.png) [@amorali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amorali)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/40 "2014-01-21T03:31:13Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Here’s a very young Courtney Cox for Tampax: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOHCtQfFn7E](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOHCtQfFn7E). I’ve read elsewhere that this was the first American TV ad to mention the word “tampon.” Anyone notice the woman behind her doing squats on the chair? There’s a feeling with tampax…as if a wad of cotton is in your vag. Tampax, cotton in your vag. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218.md?page=3)