8 Celebrities Who Betrayed the Gadgets They Were Paid to Endorse
Celebrities getting paid by major tech companies to hawk their wares is nothing new. And it turns out that, just because [insert star here] is featured in commercials and planned appearances for [insert brand here], that doesn’t mean she’s actually using it happily — or, in some cases, using it at all — in her private life.
Here are some of our favorite (and most hilarious) celebrity/tech company marketing marriage fails.
1. LeBron James.
James made two business mistakes this year: leaving the Heat (Miami fan here!) and tweeting a complaint about his Samsung smartphone, one of the products he endorses.
(Business Insider)
Something went wrong with his Samsung Galaxy Note, the phone James is known to use, and he seemingly posted the above message to Twitter before thinking it through.
Whether it was that the King came to his senses (#dollarsigns) or a Samsung representative reached out to him, James did delete the tweet in a timely manner, and then sent out this “false alarm” note to his followers.
(@KingJames/Twitter)
So, no harm done. Right, @SamsungMobileUS?
2. Alicia Keys.
(Pocket-Lint)
Shortly after being named BlackBerry’s global creative director, Alicia Keys was still pretty close with her iPhone. That’s according to a tweet she fired off early last year, as shown in the “Twitter for iPhone” info in the tweet above.
(Pocket-Lint)
Keys later that same day tweeted a retraction of sorts, saying that she must have been hacked. Whether that’s true or not, the pop-music artist has since left BlackBerry and is now free to tweet from any device she chooses without public scrutiny.
3. Oprah.
Here’s another possible case of “Star doesn’t understand that Twitter can see where you’re tweeting from.” Oprah Winfrey, the undisputed ruler of the TV talk show kingdom, walked right into a gaffe a couple of years ago when she attempted to endorse Microsoft’s Surface tablets — from her iPad.
(Zagg)
It’s unclear how often someone like Oprah actually tweets for herself, but regardless of who sent it, the post was a funny juxtaposition all the same. According to Time, the Oprah account even went on to explain, from an iPad, how much the host loved the Surface’s screen and keyboard. Because, you know, she clearly loves that SURFACE!
4. Ellen DeGeneres.
We all remember this star-studded and record-breaking Academy Awards Twitter selfie from March (below). That was, of course, posted via Samsung Galaxy Note by the event’s host, Ellen DeGeneres, an apparent product plug on one of the year’s highest-rated television broadcasts.
(@TheEllenShow/Twitter)
In fact, Ellen was seen on and around the Oscar stage all night with her trusty Samsung phone. But backstage, well, that was apparently the Wild West of product endorsement agreements, because off-air celeb selfies of DeGeneres were tweeted from her iPhone.
(Gizmodo)
Not a great look for Samsung.
5. Jessica Alba.
Actress Jessica Alba was doing ads for Windows Phone in late 2012, a contract that, according to Microsoft, ran out in May 2013. Mere months later, she was spotted in the wild with iPhone in hand. (Noticing a pattern here, readers?)
At the time of the PR black eye, Microsoft actually had a response, telling Business Insider that Alba “still uses her Lumia phone from time to time.”
Just not at fashion shows, though. Right, Microsoft?
6. David Ferrer.
Samsung is a formidable global brand, but this Spanish language endorsement by tennis player David Ferrer looked a little silly when he, or someone posting for him, sent an S4 plug from an iPhone.
(Apple Insider)
Same old Twitter fail story, different Twitter fail language.
7. David Beckham.
Model/futbol player David Beckham in 2012 signed a deal to be Samsung’s Olympic ambassador. He respected the contract even while playing for the LA Galaxy: When a media member’s phone rang during a press conference, he charmingly refused to answer it since it was a non-Samsung device.
(Apple Insider)
But, unfortunately for the No. 1 phone-maker in the world, it appears that Beckham couldn’t hold off his iPhone love for long. He was spotted at this year’s Super Bowl snapping pics with what looked to be his very own Apple phone (above).
Bending phone allegiances like Beckham?
8. Kate Upton.
(edibleapple.com)
When you’re a beautiful magazine model, you get away with plenty. This is probably why no one told Upton to put her iPhone away at this Samsung Galaxy Note event that she was asked to attend/support two years ago.
Bonus 1: Bill Gates’ daughter.
A Gates “iPhone-gate”?
Yes, the children of the Microsoft co-founder are, according to his wife and him, not allowed to own Apple products. Though, strangely enough, it looks like Jennifer, the daughter of Bill and Melinda, is enjoying her iPhone (or iPod) in the picture below. We’d say she might have some explaining to do if that weren’t Melinda Gates herself in the picture with her.
(Daily Mail)
We know the Zune was discontinued around the time this picture was taken, in late 2011, but we’d have to think that the Gates family still had, and even still has, a few lying around the house. No excuses!
Bonus 2: Kim Jong-un.
For fear of inciting the same wrath of that James Franco and Seth Rogen have, we’ll be brief here:
The picture above appears to maybe, possibly be Kim using a Samsung phone, made in the enemy country of South Korea. That is all.
*
Be careful, celebrities: If you sign a deal with a phone manufacturer, you’d better be prepared to leave the competition’s gadgets at home. Otherwise, you will be photographed, and mocked online, for your infidelity. To that phone company, we mean.
(Cover image: redmondpie.com)
Have questions, comments, or just want to tell me something funny? Email me at danbean@yahoo-inc.com.
