Sylvester Stallone does it. So do Naomi Campbell, Jodie Foster, Paul McCartney and NBA star Scottie Pippen. Pretty soon, Tiger Woods will be doing it, too.
They all pitch products on Japanese TV and rake in loads of money from the world's second-biggest advertising market. While some do endorsements at home, too, those generally are more closely scrutinized.Publicists for Hollywood's moonlighting stars say the advertising work here is both lucrative and professionally satisfying. Still, it is often done with the understanding it will never, ever be seen by audiences back home.
While good for the product's image, some superstars want to be sure the product doesn't diminish their image - and box office draw.
Would, for example, seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger hawking instant noodles make him any less of a beefy action hero?
And take Jodie Foster, the two-time Academy Award winning actress and director who starred in such acclaimed films as "Silence of the Lambs" and "The Accused." Foster frequently can be seen on the Japanese tube giving her celebrity endorsement to Mount Rainier Cafe Latte and Keri Lotion for Bristol Myers.
Not the most challenging of roles, but what the heck, says her agent, Jennifer Allen.
"She loves the product, and they are very well done and prestigious," Allen said. But she stressed that Foster does commercials "only for Japan," adding that Foster already has a strong fan base in the United States.
The history of calling in foreign celebrities to endorse products in Japan dates back to the early 1970s, when Charles Bronson was chosen by the advertisement giant Dentsu Inc. to sell Mandom, a line of men's cologne and toiletries.
"Hmmm . . . Mandom," Bronson said in that groundbreaking, if not quite Shakespearean, spot.
Industry experts say it is relatively easy to sign on the big names because ad appearances are quick and easy work that pays well. Besides, Japan is far enough away that, even if the ad is really bad, it goes largely unnoticed by the home-country fans.
Foreign celebrities command from tens of thousands to millions of dollars - far more than their Japanese counterparts, said Tetsuya Takizawa, with Hakuhodo Inc., Japan's second-largest ad agency.
Typically, stars are simply required to flash a smile and utter a word or two for a 15-or 30-second ad. The appeal of raw fame and Japan's deep penchant for things Western is deemed enough to do the trick.