# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/41 "2014-01-21T04:53:27Z")
> [@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. There’s one in which he “washes” invisible dishes in the sink while she talks, and it’s not for comedic effect. He and his (8th) wife recently separated after more than 35 years together due to him accusing her son (by a previous husband) of elder abuse (testifying about it before Congress in fact) and embezzlement. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/42 "2014-01-21T12:52:35Z")
I still have trouble accepting that [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsFrFQ-F64Y) actually happened. ---
**Author:** ![JuliaSqueezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/82dd89/32.png) [@JuliaSqueezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JuliaSqueezer)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/43 "2014-01-21T20:39:57Z")
I think the Anita Bryant endorsement and theme song singing for the Florida Citrus Commission is right up there. In the 70’s, this former beauty queen sang “a day with out orange juice is a day without sunshine” and was America’s most wholesome symbol of wholesomeness. Then she got angry at a an anti-housing discrimination ordinance in Miami and founded “Save the Children” (or some such) crusade against the gays. She decreed that all gays were hunters and recruiters of innocent children. She went on the become an outspoken hater of things she defined as “un-Christian”. The orange juice folks couldn’t dump her ads fast enough and she sort of disappeared off the radar. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/44 "2014-01-21T22:07:09Z")
Looking at one of the old Chesterfield ads with John Wayne endorsing the smokes with the knowledge that the Duke would battle cancer until it defeated him always saddens me. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/45 "2014-01-21T22:19:39Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Not really endorsements per se; more like warnings, but Yul Brynner and [William Talman (1915–1968)](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0848251/?ref_=nv_sr_1) and their anti-smoking pitches. Likely others were in on that campaign, too, but those two stood out as prime examples. > [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > I’d call that more gutsy than embarassing. > [@TV\_time](#): > > Looking at one of the old Chesterfield ads with John Wayne endorsing the smokes with the knowledge that the Duke would battle cancer until it defeated him always saddens me. Practically every he-man of the era plugged some brand of cigarettes to convince would-be smokers that not only was it cool, it was indicative of the attitude, “any fool can quit smoking but it takes a real man to stand up to lung cancer.” The he-men who died of lung and repiratory diseases might have wished they’d been a little more selective in how they added to their incomes. The thing that’s really puzzling nowadays is what product or activity will, in years to come, be seen as just as ridiculous for spokespeople to be investing their credibility in. This thread has identified some of them, but we must be missing The Big Ones. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/46 "2014-01-21T22:23:15Z")
> [@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. Shatner also was the spokesman for promoting bathroom “regularity” by eating All-Bran. Though these ads, as I remember, had a certain self-referential sense of humour about the whole thing. In fact, Shatner’s been in so many commercials, his commercials have their own fan page! 😃 > **[Classic TV Commercials Starring William Shatner](http://skritch.blogspot.com/2013/04/tv-commercials-starring-william-shatner.html)** > > A compilation of classic television commercials starring William Shatner... ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/47 "2014-01-21T22:52:54Z")
[Original Takes for Orson Welles Wine Commercial - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFevH5vP32s) Orson Welles FTW (or loss) and The Critic’s send-up… [Orson Welles in The Critic - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i7ycxiog40) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/48 "2014-01-21T23:45:58Z")
[Erik Estrada](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNiWO5gsms8) pitching California real estate before the bubble. [Refrigerator](http://www.flickr.com/photos/dancingdavide/3239857471/) [Perry](http://www.perrymarshall.com/PM3_0/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/refrig.jpg) was once the spokesperson for [Big Ass Fans](http://www.bigassfans.com/). ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/49 "2014-01-21T23:55:05Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned what was arguably the most ill-advised celebrity endorsement ever, namely former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s television commercial for Good Luck Margarine. Despite the criticism, she apparently had no qualms, since she earmarked the $35,000 fee she collected for her favorite charity. The small ding to her dignity was worth the benefit she reasoned. See the ad here: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6HY8vxYX78s/hqdefault.jpg "Eleanor Roosevelt Margarine Commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HY8vxYX78s) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/50 "2014-01-22T01:05:45Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Sam Waterston for Old Glory robot insurance (be sure to read the text in the corner at the end): > [http://www.digyourowngrave.com/saturday-night-live-old-glory-robot-insurance/](http://www.digyourowngrave.com/saturday-night-live-old-glory-robot-insurance/) He’s good, almost kept a straight face. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/51 "2014-01-22T02:30:34Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Robert Vaughn did commercial wrap-arounds for a number of personal injury lawyers. > [@mbh](#): > > William Shatner did a few of those, too. he was funny at it and he’s no stranger to making money by any means neccessary. ---
**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 22, 2014, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/52 "2014-01-22T02:31:45Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > Looking at one of the old Chesterfield ads with John Wayne endorsing the smokes with the knowledge that the Duke would battle cancer until it defeated him always saddens me. It wasn’t lung cancer that got him: > **[John Wayne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_wayne#Death)** > > Marion Robert Morrison\[a\] (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), professionally known as John Wayne and nicknamed "the Duke", was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood's Golden Age, especially in Western and war movies. His career flourished from the silent era of the 1920s through the American New Wave, as he appeared in a total of 179 film and television productions. He was among the top box-office draws for three decad... > **[Did John Wayne die of cancer caused by a radioactive movie set?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341555/did-john-wayne-die-of-cancer-caused-by-a-radioactive-movie-set)** ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/53 "2014-01-22T02:49:30Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > [Former Dallas Cowboys coach and current NFL talking head Jimmy Johnson. For Extenze, the male-enhancement pill.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgI2dsJN-Ng) Holy fuck. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/54 "2014-01-22T19:24:27Z")
> [@JuliaSqueezer](#): > > I think the Anita Bryant endorsement and theme song singing for the Florida Citrus Commission is right up there. In the 70’s, this former beauty queen sang “a day with out orange juice is a day without sunshine” and was America’s most wholesome symbol of wholesomeness. > > Then she got angry at a an anti-housing discrimination ordinance in Miami and founded “Save the Children” (or some such) crusade against the gays. She decreed that all gays were hunters and recruiters of innocent children. She went on the become an outspoken hater of things she defined as “un-Christian”. The orange juice folks couldn’t dump her ads fast enough and she sort of disappeared off the radar. She also spoke out very judgmentally against divorce, and then got divorced herself. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/55 "2014-01-22T19:47:01Z")
I saw this yesterday and was horrified. Why is Phil taking to a duck? [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLJqivRbfUQ&feature=s) ---
**Author:** ![SmallBrownBurro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@SmallBrownBurro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmallBrownBurro)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2014, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/56 "2014-01-23T04:38:23Z")
Katherine Heigl is doing Zzzquil adds now: [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiMyYL0_row). I almost feel bad for her. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2014, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/57 "2014-01-23T05:07:56Z")
Radio/TV show host Arthur Godfrey used to do various types of insurance and medical commercials in the afternoon when I was a kid. I didn’t know who he was at the time because he was a bit before my day, but I’ve since learned that those commercials were kind of sad in their origin. Godfrey was a real life Norma Desmond type character- he went from a superstar to a total has been almost overnight after he quit his show. He thought he would take a couple of years off and then pick up his career where he left it, but he found out nobody was really interested; his ratings had been respectable but in decline when he quit, and he was so obnoxious and authoritarian that nobody wanted to work with him, several shows already had the super important 18-40 something population sewn up and he wasn’t really missed that much by his former fans. His most diehard support was among older listeners and viewers who were not the ones the networks were after. Consequently he could not get work. He was not desperate financially. He was very rich in fact, but like Norma he was desperate for an audience. He did those commercials not because he needed the money, but because it was the only work he could get. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2014, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/58 "2014-01-23T05:11:06Z")
I’ve always heard celebrities are offered tractor trailer loads of money in Japan to do commercials and ads for embarrassing or mundane things. They fight tooth and nail to keep those commercials and ads from showing up in the U.S. I’d love to see some of them. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2014, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/59 "2014-01-23T05:32:48Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I’ve always heard celebrities are offered tractor trailer loads of money in Japan to do commercials and ads for embarrassing or mundane things. They fight tooth and nail to keep those commercials and ads from showing up in the U.S. I’d love to see some of them. 11 most ridiculous Japanese ads with American celebs: [http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/29/11-most-ridiculous-japanese-ads-with-american-celebs/](http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/29/11-most-ridiculous-japanese-ads-with-american-celebs/) ---
**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 23, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218/60 "2014-01-23T16:41:20Z")
Also a key point in _Lost in Translation_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-embarassing-celebrity-endorsement/679218.md?page=4)