Valerie Bertinelli and Kirstie Alley have shilled for diet company Jenny Craig, and now their newest spokesperson will be plus-sized actress Queen Latifah. The company says it wants to focus on a healthy lifestyle with Latifah’s ad campaign rather than go for a traditional weight-loss oriented campaign.

“We officially confirm that Queen Latifah will join the Jenny Craig program in January,” Scott Parker, Jenny Craig’s vice president of marketing, tells PEOPLE. “We are thrilled to have Queen Latifah support our mission of improving health by taking her first step toward achieving a more healthful lifestyle.”

Parker adds: “Queen Latifah joins forces with Jenny Craig to communicate the importance of how small lifestyle changes, in the areas of diet and exercise, can have positive effects on overall health.”

The Hairspray star, who has consistently celebrated her plus-size figure over the years (including a recent PEOPLE cover story), will have a “very different campaign, focused on a healthier lifestyle, not on getting onto a specific dress size,” says Parker.

[From People.com]

It sounds like they are embracing a positive body image and that’s excellent. Queen Latifah has always come across as a confident woman and if you don’t think too hard about it she’s a very good choice for a diet company spokesperson because she seems so normal and down to earth while she’s also able to be glamorous. The thing is, she also did voice-over ads for Pizza Hut in which she told us to “Gather round the good stuff” and stuff our faces, not go for a walk or eat a salad.

There was also a story last year that she attended the opening of a “Fat Burger” restaurant in Miami and sung the fast food chain’s praises, saying “That was part of my Los Angeles education. On Sundays in California everybody would come out in all these low-riders. FatBurger was, like, the centerpiece for it all.”

There’s nothing wrong with liking fast food or becoming a spokesperson for a pizza chain, but are people going to forget Latifah’s Pizza Hut commercials when she’s shilling for Jenny Craig? Maybe admitting you need a diet plan is just a natural extension of too much junk food.

Here’s one of Queen Latifah’s Pizza Hut ads. She’s the voice at the end.

Queen Latifah is shown at the American Music Awards on 11/18/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

Pizza Hut has asked Paris Hilton and her hookup of convenience, Swedish pizza delivery boy and soon-to-be male model Alex Vaggo, to shill for them. They want to create a Super Bowl commercial where Paris plays herself and Vaggo is the hot pizza boy who satisfies two of her cravings in one visit to her mansion:

Paris Hilton might be getting a special role for her real-life pizza-delivery-boy beau, Alex Vaggo. Pizza Hut has asked the heiress to star in a Super Bowl ad with her latest boy toy, a source tells Star. In the ad, which Paris is still negotiating, Alex drops off Pizza Hut’s newest dish to Paris’ mansion, and they fall in love. Talk about art imitating life!

[From Star Magazine, print edition, December 24, 2007]

This sounds similar to the German commercial where Paris gets bread delivered after looking up the number on the Internet, because she doesn’t want to put on clothes and walk down to the corner to the bakery. The delivery guy is kind of surprised to see her answer the door in her underwear. Here’s that bread commercial:

Vaggo was working as a pizza boy in Gothenberg, Sweden, to earn his fare to America and was staying in a youth hostel in LA when he caught Paris’ eye. She was said to be trying to get him a job as a model, and he may get quite a chance at exposure with this Pizza Hut commercial. The guy is super hot and while some question his mental capacity and sanity at getting involved with Paris, he hasn’t been out with her constantly and could be trying to keep his distance. Paris has since had another fling with Stavros so she’s probably not serious with Vaggo anyway.

Paris and Alex are shown out on 11/28/07 when Paris brought Alex to dinner with her family. Paris started a full-on campaign to get Stavros back right afterwards so I would bet that Alex told her he wanted to take things slow after she brought him to meet her family. Thanks to Splash News for this picture.

Victoria Beckham has hit back at suggestions that David’s Goldenballs were digitally enhanced for his Giorgio Armani campaign.

She says, “I’m proud I still have a really good sex life with David. He is very much in proportion. He does have a huge one, though. He does. You can see it in the advert. It is all his. It is like a tractor exhaust pipe!”

KGET

I wondered what Beck’s might think about his penis being described this way. Is his wife complaining about the size of the package? Is David embarrassed by public discussion of his privates? Probably not, a man who is willing to pose nearly naked for a global advertising campaign is likely to be very comfortable in his own skin. Maybe David told Posh to say this?

I had a closer look at the pictures of David to see if I thought they were digitally enhanced. I had no idea if the pictures were altered. So I kept looking a bit longer. There was no reason to keep examining the picture, but if you look for yourself, you might find yourself similarly captivated.

Sales of white undies similar to the ones worn in the campaign are up 50% in Selfridges department store in the UK. Obviously David’s Goldenballs are doing their job.

Annie Leibovitz has shot another series of celebrity advertisements for the Disney Parks. Her last set of images drew praise for the creative way it brought Disney fantasy to life. Scarlet Johansson was Cinderella fleeing the ball in a flowing gown, David Beckham was Prince Phillip on his bucking steed, and Beyonce, Lyle Lovett and Oliver Pratt were Alice, the Mad Hatter and the The March Hare sitting on the famed teacups.

The latest photos are equally impressive. Rachel Weisz is a lovely Snow White in congress with the birds and animals, Julie Andrews and Abigail Breslin are fairies, and tennis great Roger Federer is King Arthur removing the sword from the stone.

My son hasn’t gone to Disney World yet, but if grandma has her way he will soon. It’s a fun, extremely well-crafted amusement park, but it’s still a pain in the ass dragging your kid around for an entire day, waiting in line, and walking everywhere. You can put celebrities in perfect costumes and add wind and props and it does evoke a feeling of other-worldliness and relaxation. These photos are beautiful, but if I want a fantasy experience I know I should be going to the spa, not to an amusement park with my family.

Here are the latest advertisements, which will run in US magazines in December. Rachel Weisz and Roger Federer are also shown on set. Thanks to The Daily Mail via ONTD for these photos.

Move over Kate Moss.

The once famous face of sexy lingerie line “Agent Provocateur,” has been replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal, who I think looks absolutely phenomenal in these photos for the ad campaign.

Some seem to be questioning Provocateur’s choice to use Gyllenhaal, but if you’ve ever seen her in the film, “Secretary,” where her character is that of a mousy, plain girl who tranforms into a sex kitten, then these ads should come has no surprise.

Serena Rees, co-founder of Agent Provocateur, said:

“Maggie is not an obvious sex symbol. She is interesting looking, confident and beautiful in a way that is non-threatening, which makes her appealing to men and women alike.”

The images are part of ‘Lessons in Lingerie, the first in a collection of books entitled The Adventures of Miss A.P. The next episode in the series, ‘Lady of the Manor, will be released in November.

[Daily Mail]

What do you think - Hot or Not?

[Thanks to Celebutopia for the pics]

Once upon there was a beautiful girl, who was full lipped and blonde and the face of Louis Vuitton. By the time she was 22, she’d made too many boring Woody Allen films to be interesting, but King Louis didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so he replaced her with a man.

Shot by photographer Annie Liebovitz, the ads focus on travel - a “core value” for the company which started in 1854 as a trunk-maker, the statement said.

Gorbachev is featured in a car, a Vuitton bag at his side and the Berlin Wall in the background.

Graf and her husband Agassi are shown snuggling in a hotel room bed.

A vampy Deneuve sits perched on a Vuitton suitcase in a foggy train station - or is it a movie set?

The campaign - which is to run alongside more traditional fashion ads that in past seasons have featured American screen siren Johansson - is to hit magazines in September, the statement said.

Sydney Morning Herald

The choice of Mikhail Gorbachev is amazing! Much more interesting than Scarlet Johansson (who I do like, but she’s no former Soviet Union president!).

Scarlett will continue working with Woody Allen on their third film together, set in Madrid. It is yet to be titled and will be released in 2008.

Header image thanks to Queerty.

USA Today has a list of the 25 most memorial commercials from the past 25 years. Most of these I remember as I’m a little bit north of 30. I’ve added the YouTube versions where available, and they do bring back memories. Unfortunately USA Today focuses a lot on the 90s, and there are some more recent ads that they may have overlooked. Here are the first 15 ads on their list, with the rest available at the source.

1. Lifealert: I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up! (1990)

2. Apple Macintosh: 1984 (1984)

3. Wendy’s: Where’s the Beef? (1984)

4. Isuzu: Joe “Trust me” Isuzu (1986)
I don’t remember this one at all, probably because I was too young when it aired, although I definitely remember “Where’s the Beef” from that same year. Here is USA Today’s description. You can see some of the ads on YouTube.

Joe Isuzu ranks among the most memorable auto pitchmen. He (David Leisure) was a remarkably likable liar making outrageous claims about the Isuzus. Joe’s job as slimy hawker wasn’t to sell cars, but to familiarize consumers with the then-little-known Isuzu name. Did he ever. Trust us.

5. Energizer Bunny (1989)

6. Bartles & Jaymes: Thank You for Your Support (1985)

7. California Raisin Advisory Board: Heard it Through the Grapevine (1986)

8. Budweiser: Croaking Frogs (1995)

9. Bush campaign: Willie Horton (1988)
Here’s a link to the YouTube video

Who can forget that mug shot? The ad tried to link Democratic presidential opponent Michael Dukakis to a prison furlough for the Massachusetts convict during which Horton raped a woman and stabbed her boyfriend. But Dukakis felt the knife.

10. California Milk Processors Board: Got Milk? (1993)

11. Partnership for a Drug-Free America: “This is Your Brain on Drugs” (1987)
I really hated this ad!

12. Ikea: Gay Men Shopping (1994)
Does anyone remember this commercial? I could not find it on YouTube

Major marketers were too timid to court gays on TV until Ikea broke the barrier. Two male actors portray a couple shopping for a dining room table. IKEA was bold, but not so much that they shopped for other rooms.

13. McDonald’s: Nothing but Net (1993)
Michael Jordan vs. Larry Bird. I remember this commercial well.

14. Pepsi: Michael Jackson on fire (1984)
Michael Jackson’s hair caught on fire in this one, but in the versions on YouTube it’s cut out. Is there an actual commercial showing his hair on fire? USA Today words their description of this ad as if the hair-on-fire scene exists:

This ad is remembered not for its wonderfully 1980s capture of the Jackson mystique, but for its pyrotechnics gone awry. Jackson’s hair caught fire, and nothing else mattered - not even the fact that the Gloved One refused to be seen in the ad actually holding a Pepsi.

15. Reagan Campaign: Morning in America (1984)
This looks like a car commercial at first.

Thanks to USA Today for the memories and for all the users on YouTube who uploaded these classic commercials. Article found via Fark.

Thanks to a discerning consumer who complained about a mascara ad featuring Penelope Cruz wearing fake eyelashes, Loreal has been ordered to add a disclaimer to all commercials for mascara that include falsies:

L’Oréal has been condemned for producing “misleading” mascara adverts featuring Penelope Cruz.

The TV and magazine adverts boasted that women could have up to 60 per cent longer eyelashes with its Telescopic mascara.

The Hollywood star’s voice promised: “Lashes that could reach for the stars.”

But a sharp-eyed viewer suspected the actress was wearing false lashes to exaggerate the length of eyelid hair produced by the product.

She protested to the Advertising Standards Authority, who upheld her complaint.

It found the TV commercial misleading and said the magazine advert failed to be accurate and true. During the investigation, the French company admitted that the star had been wearing individual false lashes.

The ASA has ordered L’Oréal to add a disclaimer to future adverts whenever models are shown wearing false lashes.

[The Daily Mail]

I have a lot of problems finding good mascara, and have often been annoyed at the obvious use of fake lashes in those ads. Good for that woman for doing something about it! Maybe the cosmetic companies will think twice about using fake lashes in their ads from now on.

Is it just me or are most drug store mascaras crap? Whenever I try a new brand, like Maybelline Define-A-Lash with the nifty silicone brush, they results are usually clumpy and/or too sparse. I get my hopes up occasionally and try a new mascara and am always disappointed. I usually find a brand and stick to it for years. Right now I’m using Max Factor 2,000 Calorie, which is more expensive in Europe so I buy it online at Drugstore.com and have a year’s supply shipped to my parent’s house in the states. I also used to like Loreal’s Lash Out. Here’s a good list from Fab Sugar of the best drug store mascaras.