Celebrities selling out?

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At what point is it considered that a celebrity sells out when it comes to endorsements and advertising? Do we expect more of a celebrity that they shouldn't advertise things or do we expect them to use thier fame to do so anyway and try and sell things for more cash?

Are there any celebrities you wish hadn't done any advertising because it changes what their supposed image might be and have any celebrities managed to enhance their reputation through advertising.

I'm curious because of two pieces of advertising that have come up. One is Iggy Pop selling car insurance and the second is Lemmy from Motorhead about to sell Kronenbourg using the Ace of Spades song. More on that here.

So what do you think?

Comments

How does Iggy Pop sell out? What did he stand for? I think this would have been a bigger concern for the 60s Hippy type Celebs than most that followed. A war protester or "Down with the man" type can sell out. A Pop musician out to make money and gain groupies? Not so much.

Iggy Pop is punk, and not selling out to the man is absolutely part of the zeitgeist of punk. Punk is supposed to be about the music and the lifestyle and doing what you want and not caring about social convention. It's not really supposed to be about the money and the fame and the groupies. And it's definitely not supposed to be about helping corporations become richer just to make a buck. I think this is definitely a sellout on Iggy's part.

Seems like he is pre-punk to me. The Stooges got going around the time we were born Sarah. I remember him more for working with fellow wacked-out but highly talented David Bowie then as a Punk Rocker. To me he was never a protester unless it was about fitting into the norm of pop artists. But not really against society in general.

I guess to me, if Iggy is a sell out then so is Alice Cooper and Ozzy. They weren't leaders of movements, they were just musicians that cultivated an other than normal look and attitude to play to their fans that also fit with their drug and alcohol intake. If John Lennon was alive and pushing the products I would consider it selling out. David Crosby, Pete Seeger or even Sinead O'Connor could sell out. Iggy Pop? Still don't see it.

Well, maybe he was pre-punk, but I think the idea's the same. And I don't think he was a protester, but then punks aren't known for that in particular, in fact, I'd say it's all more self-indulgent than anything. But I think the last sentence of yours is really totally wrong (sorry!) the entire point of punk is to be against society in general.

I think if Iggy Pop had been selling jet fueled alcoholic drinks, it wouldn't be as bad as flogging car insurance.

The Alice Cooper one I saw for an airline was amusing because it played off the lack of makeup and how normal looking he is otherwise.

I am interested in the Motorhead one if only because a blues version of Ace of Spades is probably going to be really good.

Well, if that's the point of punk and ever changing your mind about it is selling out, then Iggy Pop sold out years ago. In 1994 he had a reoccurring part on the kid's show Pete and Pete. Then he was on an episode of Deep Space Nine. And he did the voice of a newborn baby in the Rugrats movie. And he was in the Nickelodeon kid's movie Snow Day. One could argue his portrayal of Li'l Rummy's voice on Lil' Bush: Resident of the United States is "punk", but the others...not so much.

I don't personally believe in selling out as an artist. As a person, if something goes against your stated values, yes, but if someone is just going along with creative activities and trying to make money at them I don't really buy into the concept of selling out. We all need to be paid.

I'm pretty sure I've heard "Lust for Life" on ads for Carnival Cruises. While that amuses me with the incongruity, it doesn't really bother me.

I'm not sure if I agree with the whole concept of "selling out", and even if I did, I probably wouldn't include older celebrities on the downslope of fame doing stuff to stay in the public consciousness. I don't think it's quite the same thing.

Quote Originally posted by Zuul View post
Well, if that's the point of punk and ever changing your mind about it is selling out, then Iggy Pop sold out years ago. In 1994 he had a reoccurring part on the kid's show Pete and Pete. Then he was on an episode of Deep Space Nine. And he did the voice of a newborn baby in the Rugrats movie. And he was in the Nickelodeon kid's movie Snow Day. One could argue his portrayal of Li'l Rummy's voice on Lil' Bush: Resident of the United States is "punk", but the others...not so much.
See, to me, it's not so much about avoiding non-mainstream, non-commercial stuff...there's a big difference between that and selling a song that was written for the purpose of artistic expression and using it to sell cars or sneakers or whatever. I mean...no judgment, but that's kind of the definition of selling out.

I don't personally believe in selling out as an artist. As a person, if something goes against your stated values, yes, but if someone is just going along with creative activities and trying to make money at them I don't really buy into the concept of selling out. We all need to be paid.
That's true, and I really don't have anything against it from that standpoint.

A few years back Ice Cube was accused of selling out as well, or at least of being a hypocrite. He went from rapping about killing the police to being in goofy family comedies and a lot of people felt that his acting career was at odds with his music career and by virtue of his time with N.W.A. he should basically never do anything kid friendly for money. Amusingly, the one spouting the loudest of accusations of selling out was Brandon Flowers of the Killers, who isn't well-known for his street cred.

I do agree there's a big difference between that sort of thing and selling a song that had a specific meaning for something that's utterly at odds with its origins.

Yeah, see, I think that's kind of bogus, Zuul. People don't have only one aspect to their personalities, and besides that, having something to say about the need for society to be reformed in some fashion doesn't mean that you are forever holding yourself on the outskirts of society.