Celebrity Endorsements

Celebrity endorsements are just as interesting as celebrity romances, if only because the endorsements seem to last longer than Hollywood unions.

King Kong star Naomi Watts made a point of telling Ryan Seacrest on E! that she'd been chauffeured to the Oscars in a new hybrid Lexus. In her lovely sing-song Australian accent, Watts said that it was everybody's responsibility to look after the environment and why not start with an eco-friendly car? It seemed obvious that she'd been paid for the endorsement, which she delivered with enthusiasm and a touch of awkwardness. Seacrest had, after all, just asked Watts about her best friend, Nicole Kidman's romance with country singer Keith Urban.

Celebrity endorsements are just as interesting as celebrity romances, if only because the endorsements seem to last longer than Hollywood unions. And sometimes the venture is hard to figure out - did a star choose a product or did the product choose them?: A shrinking Kirstie Alley is behind growing profits at Jenny Craig (she courted the weight-loss company); Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria does the song and dance for L'Oreal hair colour; Brad Pitt and Uma Thurman have endorsed Tag Heuer watches; Jessica Simpson sells chicken wings and pizza for Pizza Hut and on it goes.

I know I'd be tempted to invest, if, say, these stars put their name behind the following products:

Lindsay Lohan could go on a national speaking tour for the effects of Dexatrim. (The bulimia won't sell as well.)

Britney Spears could advertise her love for Pamper's diapers - they don't leak even when mommy is clutching baby in her lap and driving like a madwoman in Malibu to outrun the paparazzi.

Courtney Love does a series of commercials for a chain of drive-through rehab clinics that you visit after a wild night out.

If nothing else, they certainly would be memorable ads.

Post Script:

If you didn't already know, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie did not get married this week. The rebels!

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