Some of the Strangest Endorsements and Merchandise Made by Celebrity Musicians

Long gone are the days when t-shirts were the only merchandise sold by musicians. Phone cases, duvets, and even coffins are some of the strange items linked to celebrities in the modern age, and musicians regularly feature in adverts for different brands. Check some of the strangest endorsements out below. 

Condoms 

Yes, you read that right. The link between musicians and condoms was most famously seen with pop star Ke$ha back in 2011, who had 10,000 branded condoms made for a run of eagerly anticipated concerts. She fired the condoms out of cannons at her concerts, leaving fans with an unusual memento of their evening. At the time, she said of the concerts: “You will leave covered in sweat, beer, glitter, and, just maybe, you’ll get a special edition Ke$ha condom. If it breaks, you have to name your daughter or son after me.” 

Shoelaces 

Ed Sheeran is on top of the world at the moment and perhaps the most famous artist on the planet, but surely even his most ardent fans don’t need branded shoelaces?! There must be a market for them somewhere as the former Glastonbury headliner was indeed selling shoelaces from his official store not so long ago. 

Casino Games 

Typically, a visit to the land-based casino would involve a game of blackjack, roulette, or some other traditional table game or slot machine. This is unlike online casinos, who regularly host niche games nowadays, and have even recently moved towards branded games based on famous musicians. Strangely, Guns N’ Roses, Jimi Hendrix, and Kiss are just some of the musical acts that have been immortalized in themed jackpot slots. Given the rising popularity of online gambling, these acts may not be the last to explore casino games as a branding exercise either. 

Takeaway adverts 

One of the more bizarre adverts you are ever likely to see, it was something of a surprise to see legendary west coast rapper Snoop Dogg feature in an advert for UK takeaway giant Just Eat. Even recording a jingle for the takeaway firm, Snoop reportedly earned a cool £5.3million from the advert. We should not be too surprised on reflection, this is the same eccentric Snoop Dogg that had reinvented himself as “Snoop Lion” a few years back, and previously launched a DJ tour. 

Coffin 

Another entry for rockers Kiss, somewhat predictably. The rock legends caused a real stir when they announced that they would be offering the Kiss Kasket, for fans who wanted to say their final goodbye in a Kiss-branded coffin. Truth be told, we could have filled the entire list with Kiss products, as the band has a habit of releasing unusual merchandise items. The band has also sold Kiss-themed wine and bubblegum in the past. 

Piñata 

Justin Bieber is not everyone’s cup of tea, and it almost seemed as though he was inviting his haters to have a pop at him a while back when he released a Bieber-branded piñata. Fans (and non-fans) had the opportunity to get blindfolded and hit Bieber in the face with a large stick, making this arguably the strangest official merchandise releases of recent times.  

There you have them: some of the strangest examples of rock and pop merchandise in history – so far, that is. Eccentric rock bands of the late 20th century may have shown the way, but it looks increasingly like the 21st century will give us more and more examples of unusual merchandise from several different genres too.