9 surprising celebrity adverts you might have forgotten from the 70s, 80s, 90s and noughties

• Celebs cash in on their fame by promoting all sorts of products
• But some famous faces have made particularly surprising decisions
• Here are some of the strangest celebrity ads and endorsements from the 70s, 80s, 90s and noughties

Big brands have been harnessing star power to sell their products for as long as anyone can remember.

But some celebrity adverts and endorsements over the years have prompted a double-take.

Whether it’s because you wouldn’t expect to see such a big name promoting a relatively minor brand, or because you simply wouldn’t associate them with that product, there have certainly been some surprising commercial coalitions over the years.

In recent times, two that leap to mind are Hollywood megastar Samuel L Jackson bigging up Warburtons bread, and movie legend Arnold Schwarzenegger promoting Lidl’s power tools.

Below are some of the more surprising celebrity adverts and endorsements from the 70s, 80s, 90s and noughties.

Iggy Pop - Swiftcover car insurance

The ‘Godfather of Punk’ is perhaps the last person you’d expect to find selling car insurance.

But if the Sex Pistols’ John Lydon can sell butter, then why not?

Iggy Pop famously urged people to ‘get a life, get Swiftcovered’ in a 2009 advert.

Fans accused the singer of selling out, and one of the ads was banned for being misleading, but he continued as Swiftcover’s brand ambassador for three years and was credited with helping to significantly boost sales.

He later described his appearance in the Swiftcover ads as ‘so embarrassing’.

“This is so embarrassing. I was afraid you’d ask me that. This is so fucking embarrassing,” he told the newspaper.

He explained the company wanted someone who “you can’t help but like” to appear in the commercials.

Jackie Chan - Woolworths

The martial arts legend has pulled off some incredible stunts in his action movies over the years, but even he couldn’t rescue the flailing high street giant.

Viewers were stunned to see Jackie Chan appearing in a 2008 advert for Woolworths, alongside the chain’s mascots, Wooly and Worth.

In a take on a cheesy 60s sitcom, Chan is seen helping the puppet duo prepare for a party.

But when Wooly the sheep turns up with a WWE mask, the actor shows off his moves to give his animal co-stars a hiding.

Chan’s star power couldn’t prevent Woolies from going into administration that year, with its final UK stores closing early in 2009.

Pele - Viagra

In many people’s eyes, Pele was and still is the world’s greatest ever footballer.

He used his fame to promote many products over the years, from Pepsi to Mastercard.

But many fans were surprised when, in the early noughties, he became the poster boy for Viagra, helping Pfizer to raise awareness of and destigmatise erectile dysfunction.

When asked if he had used Viagra himself, he said ‘not yet’, adding: “My contract was to tell people to use it with (a) prescription, not that I (have) started to use it.”

Joan Collins - Cinzano

Joan Collins’ role as the scheming Alexis Colby in the 80s soap Dynasty made her a global superstar.

But how many people remember the glamorous screen icon teaming up in the late 70s and early 80s with Rising Damp star Leonard Rossiter to promote Cinzano?

Rossiter is seen making a fool of himself and repeatedly splashing the long-suffering Collins with the famous vermouth brand in the popular series of adverts.

Muhammad Ali - Bird’s Eye beefburgers

Many boxing fans consider Ali to be the greatest fighter ever to step into the ring.

In 1980, the year the three-time heavyweight champion of the world made his ill-fated comeback against Larry Holmes, he was seen tucking into a Bird’s Eye quarter pounder beefburger.

Speaking in his trademark poetry, he told viewers: “I’m still the greatest, I shall always be. Now, I want my tea. Excuse me.”

As the narrator asks ‘what do bigmouths have for tea?’, Ali can be seen shaking his head disapprovingly while chewing on his burger.

Ozzy Osbourne - I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter

In 2006, the late, great Black Sabbath frontman starred alongside himself (actually the impressionist Jon Culshaw) in this clever advert for the dairy substitute I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.

Ozzy and Jon are seen stumbling around the kitchen, making a mess, as they tell us they’re ‘really digging this cooking vibe’.

When the TV chef announces ‘that’s how you make fairy cakes’, they look up in horror, before declaring ‘I’m the Prince of Darkness, I’m doing rock cakes’.

Dudley Moore - Tesco

The Arthur star was still a huge name in the 90s when he appeared in a series of adverts for the supermarket giant, causing havoc around the world while ‘looking for chickens’.

In the course of his haphazard poultry search, he stumbles upon the finest local wines, helping prove to viewers that there’s much more to Tesco than they might have thought.

Burt Reynolds - Dollond & Aitchison

Who expected to see the famously moustachioed US movie star turning up in an ad for the UK opticians Dollond & Aitchison?

That’s precisely where he could be found in the late 90s, proving he was not too proud to poke fun at himself.

The Smokey and the Bandit actor is seen playing an egotistical version of himself, surrounded by his entourage of yes men and women who are too afraid to tell him he looks ridiculous in his new specs.

It takes Janine the sales assistant at Dollond & Aitchison to tell it like it is and persuade Reynolds to pick a pair that suits his ‘strong cheekbones’.

Reynolds turns on his famous charm, telling Janine she’s ‘wonderful’, but he doesn’t get quite the response he was after.

“I think you’re wonderful too,” she tells him. “My mum’s got all your records, Mr Humperdink.”

The narrator then tells us how at Dollond & Aitchison, ‘everyone gets star treatment’.

Barry Shene and Henry Cooper - Brut

Two sporting legends united for this memorable 70s advert for Brut aftershave.

The motorcycle racing champion Barry Shene is seen splashing on some Brut after another victory on the track.

The boxing great Henry Cooper approves, telling him ‘nothing beats the great smell of Brut’.

Shene replies by mimicking Cooper’s ‘splash it all over’ catchphrase.

When Cooper tells his sporting buddy there’s no better way to freshen up, Shene replies, ‘I wear it for a better reason’, adding, as his partner comes into shot, ‘she likes it’.

What’s your favourite star-studded advert from years gone by, and which do you think is the worst?

If you’re after more nostalgia, why not check out our photo gallery looking back at popular adverts from the 60s and 70s?