Photo - mtv.com
It’s official. Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi of Jersey Shore fame has joined the ranks of George Clooney, P. Diddy, Chelsea Handler, and Orson Welles. How’d that happen?
According to Perez Hilton, Snooki was the hostess with the mostest at last Thursday night’s New Jersey launch party for Hennessy Black, making her just the latest in a long line of famous people who use their 15 minutes (or more) to promote alcoholic beverages. Clooney has been the pitchman for Martini Vermouth and and contributed his talents in the form of voiceovers for Budweiser commercials. Diddy is more or less synonymous with Çiroc vodka, whereas Chelsea Handler, who also favors the clear stuff, recently ended her long-time love affair with Grey Goose in favor of Belvedere (the current sponsor of her book tour, natch). Mr. Welles was a spokesman for Paul Masson back in the day, delivering the famous ad line, “we will sell no wine before its time” with equal parts tipsy and gravitas. There’s also some rather entertaining behind-the-scenes video of him drunkenly ad-libbing his lines while filming a Paul Masson Champagne commercial.
Question is, do celebrity pitchmen and women really have a measurable impact on alcohol sales? I mean, it’s not like drinking Çiroc puts you that much closer to making the guest list for Diddy’s White Party, or sipping on Henny Black at the club all night means you’ll end up fist-pumping, grinding on the dance floor, and possibly flashing your underwear to strangers…. Oh, wait, never mind.
P.S. – For more on star-studded adult beverage ads, check out Paste Magazine’s great post, “The Ten Best Celebrity Alcohol Endorsements.”
Ms. Drinkwell 