MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Michael Jordan's Nikes. Elizabeth Taylor's White Diamonds. Celebrities have been endorsing products for a long time. But why does it seem like every famous person is doing it now? The Indicator's Darian Woods and Wailin Wong investigate.
WAILIN WONG, BYLINE: There was a time in the early 2000s when A-list movie stars were often reluctant to be the face of a brand. Amanda Dobbins covers movies and pop culture for The Ringer podcast network.
AMANDA DOBBINS: At the time, it was seen as a little gauche for highfalutin actors to do commercials. So they wouldn't do them in the United States, but they would do them abroad.
WONG: So how do we go from stars quietly doing commercials overseas to being front and center in promoting their own brands? Amanda says one big reason is the changing economics of being a celebrity, especially a movie star.
DOBBINS: This idea that you would go see a movie because a movie star whose name you recognized was in it has changed, especially with Marvel and the superhero era. Those characters are the, quote-unquote, "movie stars" now. And as a result, the actual actors aren't as big of a draw, and so they are not paid as much as they were.
DARIAN WOODS, BYLINE: To be clear, A-listers are doing just fine. But for something like a superhero movie, stars aren't always making millions of dollars.
WONG: And Amanda says celebrities are eager to find income streams outside of show business.
WOODS: And it's not considered selling out anymore. Ari Bloom is the cofounder and CEO of A-Frame Brands.
ARI BLOOM: We started getting a lot of calls because there were a lot of celebrities saying, well, look, Ryan just made $600 million on Aviation Gin. Why can't I do that?
WONG: And Ari says there are different levels of involvement. So on the lowest risk end, there's the standard endorsement deal. Show up and shoot a commercial or maybe sign a contract for an ongoing deal. In these cases, the celebrity doesn't have to put in their own money. But the tradeoff is that the ultimate payday might be lower.
WOODS: The next level is investing in a company. That could be a tech startup, or it could be something less flashy, like a fast food franchise.
WONG: And then the final level is starting a brand from scratch, something that becomes part of the celebrity's public profile. This kind of investment can really pay off. But it also carries more risk.
BLOOM: I've told a lot of celebrities, are you ready to lose $5 million?
WONG: Really? I mean, is that, like, a realistic number?
BLOOM: Absolutely.
WONG: Wow.
BLOOM: The thing that comes with ownership sometimes is, like, if the business needs some capital, a lot of times the celebrities are investing. And, you know, not everybody is good with that.
WOODS: You know who is good with that?
JOHN LEGEND: My name is John Legend. I'm an artist.
WOODS: And he has business ventures that have included a wine brand and an app that gives food and travel recommendations. He also worked with Ari Bloom to launch a skincare line called Loved01.
LEGEND: We founded Loved01 as a skincare company. And before that, I had done those traditional kind of brand sponsorships. And I saw what that relationship was like. And, you know, you get a check, and you do your thing, and then you move on. And I decided I wanted to take more ownership.
WOODS: And he wanted it to be affordable. Virtually all the products are under $25.
WONG: Do you remember the first time you saw one of your products out in the wild?
LEGEND: Oh, yeah. It was so cool. I think it was at CVS. And, you know, it was so exciting to actually go into one of those stores and see Loved01 on the shelves.
WONG: Yeah. Were you like, I don't want this locked up?
LEGEND: We never locked it up, thankfully.
(LAUGHTER)
WOODS: Let the people have their celebrity skincare products.
WONG: Wailin Wong.
WOODS: Darian Woods, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOOD MORNING")
LEGEND: (Singing) Good morning. Good morning. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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