Celebrities and tech have a rocky relationship. Time and again they’re wheeled out to support one gizmo or another, but do they really care, or even know about the product they’re fronting? Here are a few celebrities whose tie-ins have us less than convinced.
If you want to jump to read about a particular celeb and their tech, just use the table of contents.
- 1. Will.i.am – Nokia/BlackBerry/Intel
- 2. Lady Gaga – Polaroid
- 3. Bono – Apple/BlackBerry
- 4. Stephen fry – everything
- 5. Take That – Samsung
- 6. Kevin Spacey – Olympus
- 7. Dead celebrities: Bob Marley and John Lennon
- 8. Diplo – BlackBerry
1. Will.i.am – Nokia/BlackBerry/Intel
Back in 2008, the Black Eyed Peas frontman was fronting Nokia’s now defunct Comes With Music download service, saying what the Big N’s approach to music meant to him. Well clearly not very much, as the service died, and he jumped ship to BlackBerry to extol the virtues of its PlayBook, even featuring the tablet in one of his music videos. And now he’s on the payroll at Intel as “director of creative innovation,” supposedly to work on the development of “new technologies, music and tech advocacy.” But first he’s reworking its iconic jingle. Well.we.never.
2. Lady Gaga – Polaroid
The camera giant recently appointed the eccentric popstrel its creative director, tasking her with designing a range of printers, camera and camera glasses, under its Grey Label umbrella. The products are aimed to “enable creativity for all, celebrate artistry, and make sharing instantaneous across the physical and digital.” Hyperbole aside, the glasses are actually quite cool, letting you pap people then show their picture on the LCDs on the lenses. We’re still pretty dubious as to the tie-in, but as long as it produces products as innovative this, who cares?
3. Bono – Apple/BlackBerry
Famously pally with Steve Jobs (who sold him his apartment in New York’s San Remo building), Bono even endorsed a special U2 iPod. When BlackBerry ponied up sponsorship for U2’s massive World Tour though, he turned his back on Apple, instead backing RIM’s competing smartphone in ads, apps and with branding all over the band’s sell-out stadium concerts. This is the man, lest we forget, who preaches about climate change and global poverty then flies his favourite trilby first class to Italy, so self-awareness doesn’t really come into it.
4. Stephen Fry – everything
Once referred to as “a stupid person’s idea of a clever person,” perhaps Fry is a non-techie’s idea of a tech-lover: avuncular and slightly bumbling. The thing is, he’s admitted he’s addicted to tech, once saying he owned every smartphone ever made. Seen at the launch of the iPad, Windows Phone 7, Nokia store openings, numerous awards ceremonies… tech evangelism is one thing, but is there anything he won’t endorse?
5. Take That – Samsung
As part of the tour sponsorship each member of the manband was holding a Samsung Galaxy Tab at a press conference back in October. “You seem to be enjoying your little bits there,” said the moderator of the press conference. “Tell us about the link up with Samsung.”
Staring at his Galaxy Tab, newly returned member Robbie Williams said, “Samsung is great. And we’ve always done it. It is the best ones. And they love us. And it’s important that we do singing, and then put these with us,” while next to him Mark Owen giggled like a little girl.
Well at least they didn’t try to be convincing.
6. Kevin Spacey – Olympus
“I just want to write my number on life’s arm and say hey – call me.” Yes, that’s how Kevin Spacey bigged up the first generation Olympus PEN camera in a series of adverts. Among his other fist-bitingly cringeworthy quips was this little gem: “Have you ever taken a picture that looks like a memory? That hurts every time you look at it? That does that hurty thing, right here…?” Can’t say we have, Kev.
7. Dead celebrities: Bob Marley and John Lennon
The estates of both have put their late relatives’ names to tech products. From the “House of Marley” iPod docks and headphones, to John Lennon’s image being used to promote the very worthy One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) programme. It’s not that we’re against the latter. Maybe Lennon would’ve gone for it himself, but it just seems a bit unsavoury promoting something using the image of the deceased.
8. Diplo – BlackBerry
“I can’t believe people are actually paying me to travel around the world, collect new influences, build new sounds with different artists,” says the discoverer of M.I.A. at the start of a BlackBerry Torch advert. It’s a remarkably frank admission, and sums up what everyone watching the ad must be thinking too. We see an insight into his busy life, globe-hopping while he mumbles on about instant messaging, sounding (and dressing) more like a salesman at Carphone Warehouse than a super producer. At one point he even uses the handset to push the fader on his mixer, setting the bar pretty high for lameness in endorsements. And as for knowledge of the product, he doesn’t say one thing in the ad that couldn’t be applied to every other smartphone available.
Still, nice to know that the glamorous life of an international music superstar, with all the money and fame, is no compensation for being a complete bore.
