The forgotten adverts celebrities made before they were famous
When celebrities hit the big time, they are paid a small fortune to endorse fashionable brands, and appear in adverts looking polished and perfect. But it wasn't always this way. Back before they hit the big time, they were given perms and cheesy grins, and would flog anything from burgers to bubblegum.
And thanks to the wonders of YouTube, we can all get to enjoy the unfortunate commercials that the likes of Jack Black and Anne Hathaway made before they were famous.
Meg Ryan
Before she hit the big time Meg Ryan made a number of adverts. In this 1980s classic she is almost impossibly excited about a Burger King promotion. She is also pretty excited about the food. The acting here is impressive.
Naomi Watts
Watts must remember with great fondness her decision to make a Tampax tampon advert in her late teens. There was a real chance to prove her acting chops with classic lines like 'Oh Wayne' and 'eugh'. The fact that this advert came out in Australia in the 80s means there's also video evidence of the perm she chose to sport at the time.
Michael J Fox
In 1980, before he became the nation's favourite boy next door, he was playing the same role for McDonald's. He looks every bit the innocent young child, but he was already in his late teens by the time he made this advert.
Ben Affleck
It's hard to know what to love most about Ben Affleck's Burger King advert from his late teens. It could be the big quiff, the car phone, or possibly the bleached denim. Then again perhaps it's the wink he gives himself in his rear view mirror as he delivers a takeaway to a total stranger who thought she was calling Burger King.
Matt Le Blanc
In a great case of life mirroring art, Matt Le Blanc appeared in a number of adverts before he appeared on 'F'riends'. One of the classics was this one for Ketchup, where he uses the slow pour of the ketchup to impress the girls... as you do.
Leonardo DiCaprio
It's hard to recognise the Wolf of Wall Street in this fresh-faced Di Caprio, selling bubblegum. At the age of 14 he can be seen sporting a natty blazer, chewing gum, and pulling some serious dance moves. There's no way he's embarrassed about this advert nowadays.
Jack Black
Jack Black was advertising an Atari game back in 1982, when he was a fresh faced sweet child. Both Black and computer games have changed somewhat in the intervening years.
Anne Hathaway
Hathaway was on slightly less than Oscar-winning form in this advert for Cincinatti Bell in her teens. Her portrayal of angst as she waits for her date to call is somewhat less convincing than the version of angst she produced in Les Miserables over a decade later.
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