Oh Hugh Laurie – Why Did You Sell Yourself to L’Oreal and Promote Their Face Cream for Men?

I wonder if I’m the only one disappointed by the talented Hugh Laurie agreeing to be the new face of a L’Oreal skincare product for men?

It’s perfectly clear why Oreal would want the talented doctor House promoting their skin range for men. He’s popular, immensely famous and has a rugged, lived-in look that could perhaps persuade other rugged-looking guys to buy Oreal’s face creams.

More difficult to see is why Laurie agreed. I don’t want to be purist about men and face cream. Men can and will buy whatever they want with their money and if they want to buy face cream it’s entirely up to them. It’s also entirely up to Laurie if he promotes face cream. But something doesn’t sit right, or ring true, about Hugh Laurie promoting this stuff. Why on earth does he say in the advert that the product (VitaLift?) revitalises skin? Does he believe it? It’s hard to imagine that he does.

The answer must of course be that the guy just wanted to grab Oreal’s dollars even if he had to employ a bit of what the French call “bad faith” (compromised integrity) in order to pretend he’s interested in face cream.

It’s a bit dispiriting to see an intelligent and hugely talented man advertising face cream for money when he’s rolling in dollars anyway. It seems inexplicably greedy. And shabby somehow.

Oreal have used all kinds of celebrities in the past to promote their products. Eric Cantona, talented actor and former footballer, is hugely famous and popular in France. Like Laurie, he’s currently one of L’Oreal’s ‘ambassadors’, plastered all over the French website, selling deodorant.

The days when profitable companies hired unknown actors and models to advertise their products are long gone. Those jobs – which in the past kept a lot of people afloat financially who would otherwise have struggled – have dried up. They all go to the rich and famous now. Jennifer Aniston advertises bottled water – brainlessly branded as “smart” water. David Beckham has advertised too many brands to remember. George Clooney advertises Nespresso coffee. Brad Pitt advertises Tag Heuer luxury watches. Angelina Jolie advertises Louis Vuitton bags. To be fair to Angelina, she apparently donated much of her ten million dollar Louis Vuitton fee to charity – but still….ten million dollars? To be photographed sitting next to a bag?

Not one of these people needs those extra millions. So, are they taking jobs away from professional models out of sheer greed?

Whatever the answer, the tendency to use famous people in adverts – actors, actresses and sports stars – whenever possible has added to the increasing gulf between the rich and the poor in our ‘advanced’ societies. It’s just one more development that concentrates wealth in the pockets of a select minority.

It’s understandable that big companies like L’Oreal will want to associate famous faces with their brands and products. It’s understandable, too, that they’re willing to pay millions to sport and film stars to get those endorsements.

Still, it’s a bit disappointing to see such a talented man as Hugh Laurie advertising face cream and announcing to the world, like a puppet, that it revitalises men’s skin. I’ll bet you any money that he couldn’t care less about skin cream for men. Except as another way to rake in enormous wads of cash.

You didn’t need to do it, Hugh. You’ve already got millions and millions. And millions.

Source: http://www.loreal.fr/_fr/_fr/index.aspx


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