TheAge.com.au:

"Every second commercial on Japanese TV features an American movie star or sports star," explains Danny Searle, creative director of Clemenger BBDO, Australia's biggest advertising agency and the one behind the Visa campaign that starred Hollywood leading man Pierce Brosnan and which appeared throughout Asia. "And they pick the absolute cream, stars like Brad Pitt. Someone like him isn't going to do it for anything less than $2 or $3 million for a day's shoot."

The bigger the star, the more cachet, Searle believes. "It's all about status, which is enormously important in Asian countries. Hollywood stars are very well respected in countries like Japan so using them in an ad gives your brand and your product instant status."

Using a celebrity face in an advertisement also helps differentiate it from the rest, particularly in a media-saturated market like Japan. "The standard length of commercials in Japan is only 15 seconds, as opposed to the more typical 30 to 60 seconds allotted for commercials in most Western countries," explains Junko Fujii, spokesman for Dentsu, Japan's largest advertising agency. "The consequence of airing such short commercials is that commercial breaks tend to be cluttered so the viewer is bombarded with a huge amount of information. One way to stand out from all of the clutter is to use a super star, since they have the power to quickly catch people's attention."

Hollywood stars may prefer to stick to foreign and non-English speaking countries when flogging supermarket items, but when it comes to certain high-fashion and luxury brands, the opposite applies. If the brand is exclusive or cool enough, stars don't seem to hesitate becoming the "face" of a product or label, even when the ads are plastered all over the Western world, including the US. In recent seasons Jennifer Lopez starred in a Louis Vuitton print campaign, Madonna and Missy Elliott did the same for Gap, Christina Aguilera pouted for Versace, Cate Blanchett lent her perfect physique to Donna Karan, while Oscar winner Adrien Brody became the face of men's suit label Zegna.

Robin Williams, George Clooney,
Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise, with performances by Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey, Neil Young - "America: A Tribute to Heroes" (2001)

Cate Blanchett - Donna Karan
Pierce Brosnan - Visa (throughout Asia)
Leo Di Caprio - credit cards (Asia only)
Harrison Ford - reading and libraries
Nicole Kidman - Chanel No.5 (worldwide beginning in the fall 2004)
Gwyneth Paltrow - Martini (in Italy only)
Brad Pitt - coffee, cars, watches
Meg Ryan - tea (Asia only)
Arnold Schwarzenegger - the state of California
Oprah Winfrey - reading and libraries
Catherine Zeta-Jones - cellular phones

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