Hey! Rachel Bilson

So recently there has been some debate about the FTC rules about bloggers disclosing free stuff they get from companies to review. That's all well and good; I don't really care because no one gives me free stuff. I'm really more annoyed about celebrity product endorsements. I hate when you see a celebrity in an ad or on a commercial, shilling some product you just know they don't use. (Tiger Woods drives a Buick? Sarah Jessica Parker colors her own hair at home with Garnier??)

A particularly irksome example of this phenomenon occurred in the November issue of Lucky. Rachel Bilson* (who's also on the cover) stars in a six page advertisement for Tresemme products: Note the text starting on line 4: "With the help of Tresemme, she achieves the most fashion-forward hairstyles to compliment each look."

Then, about twenty pages later in the "Her Way" segment, she gives a recommendation for a shampoo and conditioner: Tresemme! No, wait, that would actually make sense. Instead, she recommends something called Davines Love Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner, which will set you back $19 and $22, respectively. What?! Didn't you just spend six pages of ad space trying to convince me that Tresemme will make my hair look like yours for about $3 a bottle? Liar!

Scanned evidence! (from Lucky Magazine, November 2009)

If you click the picture, you can see the whole thing, if you need to.

*Who is this person, anyway? I keep seeing her all over the place, (well, on the internet and in magazines) but she doesn't seem to do anything, other than lie about shampoo and wear outfits that people think are really cool. Anyone? Am I just getting old?