Stopwatch Celebrities: Who's Making News Now

By SAMANTHA ETTUS
Scripps Howard News Service
26-APR-06

Celebrity snapshot. Today I decided to see which celebrities were making headlines at exactly one moment in time. Catherine Zeta Jones, Kevin Costner and unlikely celebrity Cindy Margolis immediately leapt off of my screen.  This week we take a look at these three personalities, the actions that landed them into the media spotlight, and how they are treating their personal brands.

Catherine Zeta Jones
When it was announced this week that Zeta Jones is the celebrity with the biggest endorsement contract, the news was suprising.  Not Angelina Jolie, Donald Trump or Gwyneth Paltrow, rather it is the unassuming actress wife of Michael Douglas that rakes in the biggest bucks when it comes to brand endorsements. Her 20 million dollar contract with T Mobile eclipses even her contract as the face of Elizabeth Arden.  And that contract, worth 14 million is 2 million higher than Angelina Jolie's contract as the face of St John and Nicole Kidman's with Chanel.   So how is it that the actress, who is rarely captured by the paparazzi and claims her primary residence outside of the US (in Bermuda), can be the most important celebrity face for business in America?  It is precisely her lack of overexposure and her lack of scandal that makes her a safe bet.  The Welch beauty has the face of a model and a curvy body that isn't afraid to show the occasional bulge.  She is aspirational yet unintimidating at the same time, qualities that make her the ideal spokesperson.  Many of her celebrity peers make their personal lives an open book and this makes it harder for them to be credible. Instead, we associate so much behavior and baggage with their images that it makes it hard for a brand association to be digestible. In the case of Zeta Jones, she has managed her brand flawlessly and she is reaping the pay off.

Catherine Zeta Jones Celebrity A$$$$ets

Kevin Costner
"Blind items" have become a salacious feature on gossip columns everywhere and celebrity watchers love playing along by guessing which anonymous celebrity committed which social crime. This week, one such celebrity was revealed and his transgression was more than embarrassing.  We can be sure that Kevin Costner had no intention of the cat coming out of the bag so publicly.  Costner has been identified as the mystery man in a lawsuit in which he is said to have masturbated in front of a masseuse in a Scottish hotel while vacationing on his honeymoon.  This cannot be good news for Costner whose film career has already been relegated to B List status.  This news and on his honeymoon nonetheless is bound to negatively impact his career.  While many in Tinseltown still rely on the old adage any publicity is good publicity, in Hollywood, as evidenced by Michael Jackson and George Michael, lewd news proves an exception.

Kevin Costner's Celebrity A$ets

Cindy Margolis
It is hard to imagine that Playboy can be the right career move but there is an exception with Cindy Margolis. Margolis was declared the winner of Celebrity Cooking Showdown in last week's finale, beating out musician Ashley Parker Angel for the title.  Though the show was unceremoniously canceled after its first season, as the winner, Margolis maximized the opportunity by announcing within days of her win, that she would be serving herself up as Playboy's next dish.  For most celebrities, Playboy would scream death to their careers but for Margolis, it was brand consistent and as a result, a wise decision.  Margolis, married to Jerry's Deli owner Guy Starkman, began her career as one of "Bob Barker's Girls" on The Price is Right. She morphed this fame into becoming the most downloaded face of the Internet, the only person to ever receive this title from The Guinness Book of World Records. Amazingly, Margolis branded herself with a sexy girl next door image by maintaining an approachable profile, proudly keeping her "personal email address" on her website and responding personally to most of her email.  For Margolis, Playboy is a natural evolution. She has always benefited from the sex sells mantra and this will be her biggest payday yet.  

Cindy Margolis' Celebrity A$$$$ets

Remember: the most dependable road to the top is to treat your brand as your greatest asset.
 
(Samantha Ettus' second book, "The Experts' Guide to Life at Home" (Random House) is now in bookstores. She welcomes your comments at Samantha@celebrityassets.com.)