Expert: Sean Trapani - 2/8/2005

Question
Do you know what the first celebrity endorsement was - who/when/product etc?
Also how long did it take for someone else to copy - who was it?

Answer
Wow. That's an interesting Trivial Pursuit question. The problem, though, is that it could be answered in a few different ways.

If you're using "celebrity" to mean American movie star, that would probably be someone in the radio age (certainly pre-TV) in the 1920's or so. However, celebrity endorsements go back earlier than that in America, and certainly, other western nations.

If I had to answer that question, I would say the first true celebrity endorsement took place in the time of Kings, Queens and High Court. That's when an ambitious merchant would offer gifts to the royalty in hopes of it being seen. This would especially be true of fashion. Just who that first brave designer was?...your imagination is as good as mine.