The 11 Most Bizarre Celebrity Endorsements Of All Time

Considering how much money there is to be made on endorsements when you're famous, it's no surprise that even the most sophisticated celebrities can be convinced to shill for brands seemingly beneath them.

Some pairings are no-brainers (athletes & athletic apparel), some are utter train-wrecks (Scarlett Johansson and Sodastream), and some...some are just plain weird. To that end, I dug up 11 of the strangest celebrity endorsements of all time, proving we all make the occasional mistake, even Bob Dylan.

1. Muhammad Ali - Roach Traps

Float like a butterfly, sting like a... glue trap? Ali lent his face and tough-guy persona to help D-Con sell these innovative-at-the-time roach traps in the mid 1970s. 

2. Bob Dylan - Victoria's Secret

In 2004, Dylan made a very special and very creepy cameo in a Venetian-themed Victoria's Secret ad (starring a then-23-year-old Adriana Lima). As if that wasn't weird enough, he also sings in it. Bob, what are you doing?

3. David Carradine - Yellowbook

Back in 2006, Mr. Kung Fu cashed in on his Kill Bill comeback by becoming the spokesperson for Yellowbook, the independent publisher of phonebooks (remember those?).

4. Dwight Yoakum - Frozen Comfort Foods

The country singer/songwriter, actor, and director became a quadruple-threat when he launched his very own frozen food brand, Bakersfield Biscuits. They produce easy-heat delicacies including Chicken Lickin' Chicken Rings, Lanky Links, and Macaroni Mouth Poppers. Mmm?

5. The Flintstones - Winston Cigarettes

Amazingly, before they were dispensing vitamins that ostensibly exist to help you live, Bedrock's favorite family was in the deep pocket of big tobacco, singing the praises of their biggest sponsor, Winston Cigarettes, in a 1961 ad.

6. Mikhail Gorbachev - Pizza Hut

In 1997, the former Soviet Union leader appeared alongside his granddaugter in a 60-second commercial for Pizza Hut, specifically highlighting a particularly hot item at the time: no-crust "Edge" pizzas. He didn't personally profit from it, though. His appearance fee went directly to his non-profit.

7. Penelope Cruz - Nintendo DS

In 2012, Penelope starred in an unexpected and strange spot alongside her sister Monica for the gaming giant, in which the two play the new Super Mario Bros game against one another. After Penelope loses, she must hold up her end of a bet by suiting up like Mario—moustache and all—and head to the grocery store.

8. Joe Namath - Women's Panty Hose

The NFL Hall-Of-Famer turned heads in the '70s when he appeared in a "gotcha"-stye commercial wearing a pair of Hanes pantyhose, illustrating their transformative abilities. He may not have the legs to rock stockings any more, but the man sure knows how to pull off a fur coat.

9. OJ Simpson - Hertz Rent-A-Car

Well before his infamous Bronco ride down the freeway 20 years ago, Simpson, in an eerily prophetic move, did commercials and print ads posing as a customer who needed to score a rental car, like, really fast. 

10. Ozzy Osbourne - I Can't Believe Its Not Butter

Because having a long-locked male supermodel shill for faux butter spread wasn't weird enough, they went ahead and enlisted the Black Sabbath frontman himself, alongside an impersonator to play up the comparison between real butter and ICBINB. No live animals were harmed in the filming.

11. Paris Hilton - Hardee's/Carl's Jr.

Back in 2005 at the height of her fame-for-being-famous, Hilton stripped down to her bathing suit in a commercial for the burger chain, suggestively lathering up a black Bentley while intermittently taking bites out of one of their signature beastly bunned concoctions. She later reprised her role, this time alongside swimsuit model Hannah Ferguson, in 2014, because... that's hot. I'm so sorry.


Joe McGauley is a senior editor at Supercompressor. He would buy just about anything from Penelope Cruz.