Advertising Ringles

John was the smart one, Paul was the cute one, George was the quiet one, and Ringo was...the advertising spokesman one. Well, at least it seemed that way when I conducted a little research a few weeks ago on YouTube to see how many products Ringo Starr has endorsed through the years. Not that there's anything wrong with that: Ringo is entertaining in each of these spots and all he has to do is...act naturally! Since he doesn't exactly sell out stadiums like his old bandmate Paul, he has to make the extra cash somehow. I could be wrong, but he seems to have endorsed more products than any other rock star/musician in history. Some of these I remember fondly and some were new to my eyes. So let's take a look back at each of these gems...

First up is the slightly cheesy yet amusing 80s spot for Oldsmobile, which also features Starr's daughter, Lee Starkey. Somehow I don't think a Beatle's daughter would actually be driving this "Fab four door" in real life, do you?  

 
Ringo also filmed a series of commercials for Sun Country wine coolers in the...well, of course the 80s, when wine coolers were big. There's some irony in this advertising match, as Ringo admitted to having a drinking problem around this time and checked himself into the Betty Ford Center for alcoholism in 1988. Something tells me he won't be promoting alcoholic beverages again anytime soon, which is too bad because these advertisements are kinda funny..."Classic noooooose!" 








Now this Pizza Hut one from the 90s is one of my all time favorites; I'd consider this advertising gold as far as clever commercials go. It's just too perfect because it contains not one but two surprises. The first time you watch it, naturally you think Ringo's big announcement is that he's talking about reuniting with the surviving Beatles, when really he's talking about inviting them to eat Pizza Hut's stuffed crust pizza crust first. But the real kicker is seeing the Monkees show up ("wrong lads")! Kudos to the agency that dreamed this one up.



Ringo also did a few Japanese commercials for an apple juice product; according to the description for these clips, ringo is the Japanese word for apple. How convenient - someone thought he was the perfect choice for a spokesperson/surprise guest in these amusing spots. 







Lastly is this credit card ad featuring Ringo's artwork - I remember this one from when I went to see his All-Starr Band perform in the mid-90s. Personally I think he should stick to drumming.


Did I forget anything? If there's anything else that Ringo has shilled, please let me know!