Got a product? Celebrities can sell it. From soft drinks to cars, lending a famous face to an item can have huge rewards and hundreds of advertising campaigns have relied on celebrities to promote goods.
Online casinos and online gaming is no different; over the past decade, many actors and celebrities have put their names to online casinos, online gaming and even slot machines. Here are a few of the best.
Actors
Actors have been known to make occasional forays into advertisements. In a Japanese television advert for a casino game, the Hollywood star Nicholas Cage professed his love for a casino slot machine via the medium of song. Cage has appeared in a number of casino-related films, so perhaps his apparent love of gaming is genuine.
Models
In a 2004 campaign for an online casino, model Caprice posed suggestively in a lagoon of gaming and casino paraphernalia. While it was an acceptable advert for online casinos at the time, the campaign would probably fall foul of new guidelines introduced last year.
Sporting Stars
Over the years, a host of sporting faces have lent their image to a range of gaming and casino sites. Most recently, ex-Manchester United striker Eric Cantona hosted a series of gaming advertisements for an online casino. In a campaign that invoked memories of Shakespeare's Henry V, Cantona, dressed in medieval armour, appeals for online gamers and online casino visitors.
The Frenchman is not the only football star to feature in an online gaming advertisement, with other players such as Ian Wright and Ally McCoist having starred in televised slots for online gaming and casino sites.
Politicians
Ex-prime minister Tony Blair found himself the unwitting star of an online casino campaign in 2000. Beneath an ominous-looking photo of the former leader, the advertisement for the online gaming company asked: 'Are you a control freak?', with Blair's menacing eyes leaving viewers in little doubt as to his answer.
Posted by Dan at 17:21 PM
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