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celebritieswithemmab · 25 days

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Shaq can't stop endorsing (seemingly) random things

So what's the pattern?

Like many people, I saw this picture on my social media feed a few years back. The haunting image has stuck with me ever since.

The first time I saw the viral X (formerly known as Twitter) image, I thought it was fake. I assumed it to be the product of Photoshop and nothing more. After all, why would Shaq, a retired professional basketball player, be endorsing a pregnancy test? It has been a long time since I speculated on Shaq's bizarre endorsement but with the birth of this blog, I've been eager to talk about this subject. Shaq's bizarre endorsements range from, yes, pregnancy tests, to executive office seating. None of them seem to make any more sense than the others. So what exactly has Shaq endorsed (it's a lot) and why does it make sense to endorse these brands?

The majority of the time, if a celebrity is going to endorse something, there is a good chance it will have to do with clothing, beauty, or wellness. As celebrities are seen as rare, exclusive, and special, very rarely do you see celebrities endorsing everyday items for the common parts of our lives. If a celebrity endorses an alcohol brand we may buy it for our parties, or wear their makeup when we go out, but the gap between the lives of celebrities and our own is vast. We both may wear shoes and work out, but that's where a lot of the similarities end. Celebrities make for excellent brand endorsers because they have spent their lives specializing in a certain career many people never have the chance to access. This allows them to be perceived to hold a very certain skill set (like how Kim Kardashian, an influencer and reality TV star known for her curvy figure, owns a shape wear brand now valued at over $4 billion). Brands can use the image of celebrities to ad a layer of credibility to their product or service. Shaq first earned his fame on the court, and is no stranger to endorsements for sneakers or basketballs. Yet since his retirement, he has branched out to other unrelated topics.

To start off, Shaq owns more than 150 car washes, 17 Auntie Annie franchises, nine Papa John's franchises (also appearing in their advertising), and has bought and sold enough Five Guy locations to amount to 10% of the entire company.

And those are just some of the franchises he has owned. When it comes to what Shaq has endorsed, the brands are even more plentiful.

Heres a few of my favorite Shaq brand endorsements:

Pregnancy test

Sleep apnea mask

Epson printer cartridges

Executive office chair

Shaq also owns the celebrity likeness of Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, David Beckham, and Julius Erving.

So how did Shaq become the celebrity that can seemingly endorse anything?

To understand that, you must first understand Shaq's personal brand. He appeals to men who are sports fans (specifically basketball). His audience is 75% male, and nearly half of these are aged 25-34. Shaq is brand-safe, and has faced little to no controversy throughout his career. He is incredibly recognizable. Standing at 7'1, it makes his likeness hard to miss (like in the above photo). His energy positions him as lively, youthful, and relatable. Despite his impressive investment portfolio valued at over $100 million, he still appears down-to-earth, and some of his band endorsements fuels this image (more on this later). These all appeal to his main demographic. Some things that stand out to male consumers are a good value proposition, logic, simplicity, and humor.

Imagine this: you are a male, 26 years old, and regularly keep up with sports. You're just beginning your corporate career in accounting and have big plans for your future. Your girlfriend just called you concerned that she missed her latest period. You work through your anxiety and head to the nearest corner store. Standing amongst pads, tampons, and pregnancy tests, you have no idea what to look for. You feel out of place, out of your element, and you can't stop spiraling about how your whole life could change. That's when you see the kind, familiar face of Shaquille O'Neal staring up at you from the box of a pregnancy test. You rejoyce in the presence of something known! Suddenly, the overwhelming array of products with their overwhelming array of promises doesn't seem innavigable anymore. The surprising and out-of-place endorsement is humorous and allows you, finally, to laugh. All of a sudden your serious situation turns silly and ironic. You quickly choose the Shaq pregnancy test, comforted by the knowledge that you get the gift of two free Shaq stickers with purchase.

The strange endorsements Shaq takes on allows the more mundane or scary parts of our lives to be turned into something of a comedy. We recognize the surprise of seeing Shaq, the 7'1 basketball star, endorsing an office chair, but when you're an office executive and your days are filled with excel files, something a bit unusual may be exactly what you need. Especially if your colleagues are sports fans, it would make an excellent conversation starter: I have Shaq's chair. A sleep apnea mask can become Shaq's sleep apnea mask. Your ice pack can become Shaq's ice pack. This means that these products are now seen as truthworthy, strong, long-lasting, valuable, and, most importantly, a bit funny.

#shaquille o'neal #shaq #marketing #endorsement #celebrities #icy hot #five guys #basketball #sports #entrepreneur #investment #celebrityblogger

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celebritieswithemmab · 2 months

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Let's go Alien Hunting with Demi Lovato

Famous pop star goes hunting in the desert for proof of extraterrestrial life! Sounds like an ironic movie plot, right?

Photo from https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Unidentified-with-Demi-Lovato/0FVWMCXF9DU9CCO11ZX6GSHRWQ

Today, we're diving headfirst into a galaxy of entertainment to discuss something that's truly out of this world: Demi Lovato's Unidentified TV series. When I first heard about Demi Lovato's foray into the world of unidentified flying objects, I must admit, I was intrigued. I mean, who wouldn't want to see former actress turned pop-star donning a tinfoil hat and chasing little green men across the cosmos? It's like "The X-Files" meets "Camp Rock," and honestly, I was here for it. Former actress, turned pop-star, turned reality-TV-star, partnered with streaming service, Peacock, in 2020 in order to create the TV show: Unidentified with Demi Lovato. The show kicks off introducing Demi and her ragtag team of UFO enthusiasts, who are about as qualified to investigate extraterrestrial phenomena as I am to perform brain surgery (spoiler alert: not at all). With the help of two brothers working as UFO conspiracy theorists, Demi, their best friend Mathew Montgomary, and their sister Dallas Lovato, all dive head-first into the profound existential question that has thwarted humanity since the start of time: are we alone in the universe?

Demi's claim to qualification is their alleged alien encounter back in 2019. Out camping in the California wilderness, they and their (unnamed and uninterviewed) friends allegedly saw a blue, glowing orb that remained a steady 20-30 feet away from them at all times. Later that night, Demi claims that aliens visited and asked to take them (Demi Lovato) to their home planet. Agreeing, Demi claims they then had an out-of-body, astral-projection-like experience where they were "flying above the planet". Whether it was our wonderful, familiar, home planet Earth, or a foreign alien planet, they never clarify. After watching the first episode of this series I am left with far more questions than answers. Regardless, it is always entertaining to see out-of-touch LA locals armed with nothing but their wits, a questionable grasp of astrophysics, and a few pop singles as they set out to unravel the mysteries of the universe.

In the 2010's, television made a huge leap from the precedent of cable and live TV to paid streaming services. Following the large success of streaming service, Netflix, many former-cable companies have shifted their positioning to include a streaming service option. Comcast, a telecommunications company, known for their cable TV services, made this shift in 2020 with the launch of their streaming service, Peacock. In July of 2020, the service was launched to be available to everyone in the United States. That September, Unidentified with Demi Lovato premiered to anyone with a Peacock subscription. So why did Peacock partner with pop-star Demi Lovato? And why did they create a UFO investigative reality TV series together?

As we've discussed on this blog before, celebrity endorsements are a great way for any product, service, company, or brand to gain mass attention very quickly. As people already recognize a celebrity name, such as Demi Lovato, tying this name with a lesser known one (such as Peacock) is a way to gain the highly-competed-for head space of millions of consumers who are fans of said celebrity already. If you are a fan of Taylor Swift, and she partners with credit card company Capital One, you may not give a crap about credit cards but you'll watch the commercial anyways, because you want to see Taylor Swift. Then in the future, when you want to buy a car or a house and need to a credit score, maybe you'll remember that time Taylor Swift told you to get a Capital One credit card. At least, that's what the people who paid for the endorsement are hoping. This is a successful approach because celebrities are extremely memorable characters who are constantly and consistently in the news and the spotlight.

Partnering with Demi Lovato not only gained the attention of their loyal fans, but it also gave them the added value proposition of a reality TV show. Reality TV is known for being raw, uncut, unfiltered, and unscripted. Whether it is or not, fans are given the illusion of an intimate encounter with their favorite pop sensation as they open up about their feelings of ostracism from society due to their other worldy beliefs. Even if you aren't a Demi Lovato fan, the thought of seeing the celebrity attempting to find valid proof of extraterrestrial life may be enough to grab your attention anyways. It definitely grabbed mine.

Celebrities taking on ludicrous, bizarre, and mysterious exploits have always captured the publics attention. A four minute video clip on Youtube, posted by Peacock, titled Demi Sings Skyscraper to an Extraterrestrial Entity | Unidentified with Demi Lovato has gained over 850 thousand views in just over the two years it has been uploaded on the platform. The footage filmed during this four-episode single season TV show is a valuable asset for Peacock to hold. Considering the streaming service world is still so young, they can use the name and image of Demi Lovato indefinitely.

And let's not forget the expert interviews sprinkled throughout the series. Such as Kesha, who appears in a clip from her Podcast, where she speaks to Demi about their UFO encounter. We also can't forget that guy who runs a UFO-themed diner in the middle of Nevada's desert, because who better to shed light on the existence of extraterrestrial life? Forget NASA scientists and astrophysicists; we've got Larry, the self-proclaimed alien whisperer, ready to spill the beans over a plate of questionable pancakes. Larry may not be a celebrity or household name, but putting homey people like him next to Demi Lovato make this starlet appear more authentic, relatable, and real, even in layers of diamond-studded jewelry.

Demi and their group never find valid proof of extraterrestrial life, but they find themselves in some hilarious situations trying to get it. They stumble upon a mysterious crop circle in the middle of nowhere, only to discover it was just Farmer Joe's failed attempt at modern art. They also accidentally crash a local cosplay convention, mistaking it for an intergalactic summit.

So, if you're looking for a good laugh and a healthy dose of skepticism, Demi Lovato's Unidentified might just be the show for you. Just don't expect to uncover the secrets of the universe – unless those secrets involve questionable fashion choices and a profound misunderstanding of astrophysics.

#demi lovato #ufo #ufology #aliens and ufos #lovatics #extraterrestrial #scifi #reality tv #pop culture

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celebritieswithemmab · 2 months

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What is Robert Pattinsons "Little Pillow"?

Photo from MEL

And, most importantly, how did Robert Pattinson attempt to monetize it?

In the midst of lock-down, when nobody (including celebrities) had anything to do, Robert Pattinson was stranded with nothing but three t-shirts and access to a little corner store. He was supposed to be temporarily staying in a London flat during the filming of Batman, which he starred in (as Batman). Yet in the wake of COVID-19 closures across the globe, he had been stranded with little food other than what the producers would send him according to his regulated Batman diet. Attempting to make productive use of his time, Pattinson decided to try a business concept he had come up with the prior year. He had recognized a gap in the market for fast-food pasta, and says that he “...was trying to figure out how to capitalize in this area of the market, and [he] was trying to think: How do you make a pasta which you can hold in your hand?” Let's not speculate on if this question should ever be answered, or the grammar in which it was asked. Because Pattinson attempted to answer it, and I think we can agree it would have been better off left as a concept rather than a tangible object.

Photo from Glamour

Behold: Piccolini Cuscino

(Italian for "Little Pillow")

According to GQ, at the start of his entrepreneurship journey, "he went so far as to design a prototype that involved the use of a panini press, and then... set up a meeting with Los Angeles restaurant royalty Lele Massimini." This meeting had little success, and Massimini was, thankfully, unimpressed.

Back in 2019, my dad had an idea to create brownie-ice-cream popsicles. He created a ton of prototype batches, much to the enjoyment of my brother and I. His idea was, I can assure you, much tastier and a much more viable concept. So how come he never got a meeting with Los Angeles restaurant royalty? Because he never played the sparkly, blood-lusted love interest in a teen film.

When you have the sort of stardom that comes from helping create over 300 million dollars in profit, you have a lot working for you. You have an insurance to these types of connections. Fortunately, for the good of society, these connections don't ensure a product launch.

Pattinsons unsuccessful meeting in 2019 did, sadly, not deter him from further cuisine pursuits in 2020. In May of 2020, he recreated this pasta phenomenon in his interview with QC magazine. After reading the instructions for creating one of these Picconolo Cuscino dishes, I'm sure you'll agree the world is left much better without it.

Do not try this at home.

Ingredients:

breadcrumbs or cornflakes

pre-sliced cheese

tomato sauce

pasta

half a burger bun

sugar

Other items:

lighter

aluminum foil

microwave

latex gloves

Directions:

Put on gloves (it's about to get messy)

2. Cover pasta with water in a bowl and microwave for 8 minutes.

3. While cooking, create a bowl-shape out of aluminum foil, and cover with crushed up cornflakes or breadcrumbs.

4. Cover with sugar.

5. Place cheese slices on top

Allegedly, Pattinson used nine packs of cheese for this.

6. and then cover with more sugar.

“It really needs a sugar crust,” -Robert Pattinson

7. Cover with tomato sauce.

8. When pasta is finished microwaving, dump it on top of your creation.

At this point, Pattinson says there is "...absolutely no chance this is gonna work. Absolutely none,” But keep going anyways.

9. Pour more sugar on top of the pasta.

10. Hollow out your half of the burger bun, and place it on top.

Before this next step, take off your latex gloves. Pattinson didn't, and it did not go well.

11. Take your lighter and burn a fun design onto the top for aesthetic quality points.

Robert says “I’m just gonna do the initials.…” meaning P.C., for Piccolini Cuscino. The interviewer, Zach Baron, at GQ, says "at this point, he accidentally ignites one of his latex gloves, which promptly melts onto his palm." So take extra caution. This part could hurts

12. Wrap your pasta concoction in more aluminum foil, creating a type of ball.

13. Place the pasta ball in the microwave for ten minutes.

At this point, if you've done this correctly, the microwave should shark, catch on fire, and shut down the electricity, just as it did in the GQ interview.

I don't recommend eating. Robert Pattinson didn't. He figured it was best left ignored, and thats precisely what he did.

He says, “I’m really trying to sell this company... I’m doing this for my brand.”

As of 2024, there have been no official mentions of a Piccolini Cuscino fast-food business. Let's hope there never are.

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celebritieswithemmab · 2 months

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About me - Summary of qualifications

So what have me the right to have an opinion? How do you know I'm not lying? How do you know I just don't have way too much free time on my hands and tumblr at my disposal? You can't! But maybe these will help.

Marketing B.A., creative writing minor - May, 2025

Executive editor on the Eckerd Review (2023-2023 academic year)

I watched a YouTube video essay on the topic

I've been on the fashion-beauty-celebrity-influencer-girly-glitzy side of the internet since 2008.

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celebritieswithemmab · 2 months

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What is a celebrity side quest?

If you're reading this, that means I have the opportunity to sell you something. That's because I have your attention. Celebrities make their careers off of your attention. With a highly recognizable face and name, and with fan-bases become increasingly devoted with the rise of the internet, celebrities can attain a near cult-like following. This makes them excellent promoters- whether it's a club, life style, or brand- because their name guarantees attention. It guarantees sales.

Chance's are, if you've been on the internet long enough, you've seen that clip where Kanye West talks about Lady Gaga being the newly appointed Creative Director of Polaroid. While talking about brands using celebrities for promotion, Kanye says "...look at Gaga. She’s the creative director of Polaroid. I like some of the Gaga songs, but what the fuck does she know about cameras?” (Kayne West, 2013). Kanye West was using this quote to backup his argument on the absurdity of many celebrity endorsements (here's the link to an article that discusses the interview in-depth). Yet in 2009, Kayne West created, alongside Nike, his shoe own brand: Yeezy. The company quickly grew to incorporate ready-to-wear and ditched Nike, before partnering with Adidas, and is now a solo brand. Yeezy is now worth 400 million dollars. What the fuck does Kanye know about shoes?

Chance's are, it doesn't actually matter whether Kayne West knows anything about fashion or Lady Gaga knows anything about cameras. What matters is that they're public figures who garner a large amount of attention. These celebrities and brands know the power of attention, and they know its value. In the modern day, when anyone can create a website with a computer (that's literally what I'm doing right now), creating a business doesn't have nearly as many hurdles as it used to. If you're a celebrity, you have even less challenges to overcome. You already have direct access to thousands or even millions of people on your social media pages alone. You already have people working for you on Public Relations. You already have a public image and a well-defined, likeable personal brand. All you need is something to sell (really, it can be anything) and you'll start making sales instantly, with a single social media post.

So that's what celebrity side-quest is: a promotion or pursuit taken on by a celebrity that is separate or unrelated to their typical celebrity lifestyle and career.

It is my responsibility as a citizen of America and as a student of my Consumer Behavior class to inform you (yes, you) about the wacky, extravagant, and questionable promotions and pursuits celebrities have taken in the name of the good ol' fashioned dollar.

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