It totally made sense when Chubby Checker endorsed the game Twister, or when Sammy Hagar started making his own tequila down Mexico way.
But it's strange to see musicians endorsing brands like Overstock, Country Life butter and Sour Patch Kids, and we can't help but feel like they've lost their edge when we see them schilling such normal products.
1. Andrew W.K. for Playtex Fresh + Sexy Wipes-
Andrew W.K. gets really, really sweaty during his high octane stage performances, so he probably uses a towel or wipe to clean up after the show- which must be how he came to endorse Playtex Fresh + Sexy wipes.
Still, Playtex is associated almost exclusively with feminine hygiene products, so it was brave of Mr. W.K. to bridge the gender gap and show the world Fresh + Sexy wipes are for every sweaty one of us...oh wait, they're labeled "intimate wipes", so they're for a different kind of sweaty....
2. Bret Michaels for Overstock-
When Bret Michaels was the lead singer of Poison he had an insatiable appetite for booze, drugs and groupies, but Bret has come a long way from those hard rockin' days- and now he sells stuff through Overstock.com.
This may seem like a strange partnership, since Overstock is more soccer mom than rocker chick, but one of the things Bret sells on Overstock is his own line of luggage, something he'd know a thing or two since he's done so much touring.
3. Iggy Pop for Swiftcover Auto Insurance and Schweppe's-
When Iggy Pop was in his prime he used to talk trash about sellouts and corporations, but like all good punks he eventually grew up and realized making money was more important than preserving his image.
So these days Iggy Pop endorses products like Schweppes sparkling beverages and Swiftcover Car Insurance, and to his credit the ads he appears in are still quite crazy and fun, so he hasn't totally lost his edge.
4. Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) for Country Life Butter-
Johnny Rotten was one of the faces of the punk subculture when it gained global attention in the late 70s, and he spent decades being as edgy and controversial as possible with his bands The Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd.
But Mr. Rotten, real name Lydon, has reached retirement age and he has given up his hard edged life for the comfort of suburbia, where he enjoys the simple things in life- like a pat of Country Life butter on his toast.
And if that wasn't enough to permanently pull Johnny's punk card check out the former Mr. Rotten's appearance on Judge Judy- the birth of punk rock daytime TV.
5. Warren G for Affirm XL Male Enhancement Pills-
Warren G started out as part of the hip hop group 213 along with Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, and like his fellow gangsta rappers he has made many claims about his sexual prowess in his songs.
So you'd think Warren would have been embarrassed about appearing in an advertisement for male enhancement supplement Affirm XL, but it appears the pay far outweighed the embarrassment.
Or did it? He hasn't released a new album in quite some time, so maybe the Affirm XL ads killed his street cred for good?
6. Method Man for Sour Patch Kids-
I know Method Man is always talking about eating suckas up in his songs, but I thought he meant it figuratively until I saw him in an ad for Sour Patch Kids candy.
Now I'm pretty sure he must have a million dollar sweet tooth to stain his street cred with such a strange endorsement.
Actually, as you can see in this video Sour Patch Kids have always been one of Method's favorite candies, which is why he agreed to do the commercial.
Plus they sweetened the deal by letting him have full control of the video's production, so the final product is ironically deemed inappropriate for children.
7. Sammy Davis Jr. for Alka-Seltzer-
Sammy Davis Jr. was a showman, a singer, a dancer and a great actor (especially in comedies), and by the 70s he was sitting pretty on stacks of cash thanks to his time with the Rat Pack.
So why did he agree to become the Alka-Seltzer spokesman? Because Sammy began having problems with the IRS in 1972 due to overspending, so he spent most of the 70s and 80s trying to get out of debt.
No wonder plop-plop fizz-fizz was music to his ears- he was paid good money to be the Alka-Seltzer spokesman, and he was familiar with the product as a hangover cure.
8. Snoop Dogg for Norton Antivirus-
Snoop dee-oh-double-g is generally associated with chronic, gin and juice and Martha Stewart thanks to their odd TV show Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party, but Snoop never struck me as being big on tech.
But for some reason Snoop agreed to be part of Symantec's "Hack Is Whack" awareness campaign back in 2010, where contestants submitted videos featuring them rapping about cybersecurity.
Snoop must have been really, really high to have agreed to this train wreck of a campaign!
9. Bill Wyman Metal Detectors-
We've established that musicians are willing to endorse products they actually use or care about, but few reputable musicians are willing to lend their name to a product they don't stand behind or use themselves.
Which is how we know Bill Wyman Signature Metal Detectors are high quality devices that really work- because Bill is an avid detectorist and still uses the detectors that carry his name to this day.
10. Bob Dylan for Victoria's Secret-
And last but not least we have Bob Dylan- the man who won the Nobel Prize for literature and introduced the Beatles to grass back in the 60s has sold a piece of his soul to Victoria's Secret.
This ad campaign from 2004 marks the first, last and only time Dylan appeared in a TV commercial, and the iconic musician has never spoken about the incident since so it clearly wasn't a passion project for him.