Turns out John Lydon whoring himself out for Country Life Butter actually did some good. Their sales are up 25% and consequently loads of people have been able to keep their jobs. All hail the power of the celebrity endorsement.

However, not all celebrity product placements have such (surprisingly) successful outcomes. Of course, the majority of them are ill advised, detrimental to a brand’s reputation and above all, really funny. Here’s the best of the worst.

Lindsay Lohan ‘“ Fornarina: What the fuck is this ad all about? It’s probably meant to be all cute and kooky and shit but instead it’s more akin to a C-grade BTEQ media project. Fornarina’s clothes are shit anyway so it’s pretty impressive they’ve found a way to make them even less appealing by making a coked-up, failed thespian – who still looks orange and crusty post-airbrushing – the face of their brand.

Bill Cosby ‘“ Jell-O: Actually, Bill Cosby had a sweet deal going on here. He was the face of Jell-O for thirty years. That’s a monumental amount of free jelly. I would definitely be more inclined to buy a sugary treat if Bill Cosby’s face was on it. I am now craving some of this chocolate pudding and have a strong urge to watch The Cosby Show. Effective advertising, bordering on brainwashing.

Flintstones ‘“ Winston Cigarettes: Everyone’s favourite modern Stone Age family urging viewers to contract cancer of the lungs ‘“ shocking. To be fair, at the time, everyone was really stupid and thought smoking was good for you, so I guess, in their own way, Hanna-Barbera thought they were doing some kind of public service. This product placement was knocked on the head when Wilma found herself in the family way. Yabba dabba DIE.

Spice Girls ‘“ Channel 5: Well Channel Five really got the message of ‘this is the shittest channel you’ll never watch’ by commissioning this abhorrent ad. It’s an assault on the senses; my eyes ache and my ears are bleeding. But while this forgotten terrestrial station pretty much crashed and burned the Spice Girls went on to advertise body spray, chocolate, crisps, lolly pops, scooters, Polaroid cameras and Tesco ‘“ all with equally awkward results.

Pope Leo XII ‘“ Vin Mariani Wine: The Papacy was way cooler back in late 19th Century. They didn’t go around making ridiculous statements about AIDS like they do now. Which is surprising as they endorsed a cocaine-laden beverage and even gave it a gold Vatican medal, it was that good. Lindsay Lohan could lend her mug to this campaign too.

WORDS: KATE ALLEN