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More Than Ever, Marketers Turn To Celebrity Power

Nicole Kidman sashays in ads for Chanel No. 5 perfume. Eva Longoria, the bombshellette star of "Desperate Housewives," sells L'Oréal Paris hair color. Jessica Simpson struts for a hair extension company, HairUWear, and the acne skin-care line Proactiv Solution. Jamie Lee Curtis spoons up Dannon Activia yogurt while promoting environmentally friendly Honda cars. And Totes Isotoner describes its relationship with the singer Rihanna as "invaluable."

Using celebrities for promotion is hardly new, but over the last decade, corporate brands have increasingly turned to Hollywood celebrities and musicians to sell their products. Stars showed up in nearly 14% of ads last year, according to Millward Brown, a marketing research agency.

Some consumers don't really trust celebrities, but they still run out to buy their perfumes or fashions for two reasons. First is the emergence of Web sites and magazines that chronicle the mundane, daily activities of stars on a 24/7 basis. The other new force has been the explosive growth and mainstreaming of urban hip-hop music and marketing moves by artists like Sean Combs, Shawn Carter (better known as Jay-Z) and Jennifer Lopez.

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