Whether it’s personally designed or a collaboration, celebrities love to produce something to sell. With so much competition, celebs often come up with some pretty extreme products. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always pay off and causes the A-lister some serious damage. Read on to see the products certain celebrities should have passed on…
The Kardashian Kard
The Kardashian Kard, which hit shelves in 2010, was a Kardashians branded prepaid debit card. At launch, users had to pay $99.95 for 12-months ownership, an initial purchase fee of $9.95, and a monthly maintenance fee of $7.95. Not long after the card hit the market, the Connecticut Attorney General slapped the issuer with a public declaration. “Among the prepaid debit cards now on the market, the Kardashian Kard is particularly troubling because of its high fees combined with its appeal to financially unsophisticated young adult Kardashian fans,” he wrote.
While the Kardashians likely had good intentions with the Kardashian Kard (at least we hope so), public backlash made them quickly abandon the project. Probably for the best.
Sylvester Stallone’s Protein Pudding
Another interesting, discontinued celebrity product, this time because of a lawsuit. In the early 2000s, Rocky actor Sylvester Stallone decided to make a product that packed all the protein of a protein bar into one cup of pudding. “Ready-to-eat protein puddings are quite literally packed with a whopping 20g of high-quality protein in each serving,” it said on the side of the package.
Unfortunately, while bodybuilders and Stallone fans actually enjoyed the product, the actor and his business partner had a following out. As a result, Sylvester Stallone’s Protein Pudding left the shelves forever.
Jessica Simpson’s Yummy Cosmetics
Stuck in traffic and feeling hungry? Take a bite of your lip gloss! Just kidding…or maybe not. While edible cosmetics still exist, we shouldn’t forget the celebrity that started it all. In 2004, singer Jessica Simpson unleashed her Dessert Beauty cosmetics line on the world. The entire line was edible and included “lipglosses, whipped body cream, fragrances, sugar shimmer, hair and body mist, body frosting, shampoo, and body wash.”
While the singer used some of her favorite flavors in the line, others did not find it so appetizing. The celebrity’s cosmetics line went the way of the dodo less than three years later.
Snoop Dogg’s Antivirus
If there is a king of odd celebrity products, its likely Snoop Dogg. Over the years, his name appears on everything from cookbooks and shoes to Hot Pockets and Jack-in-the-Box meals. However, the most bizarre must be Snoop Dogg’s Antivirus campaign. Using the slogan “hack is whack,” the rapper teamed up with Norton Antivirus for a competition. Competitors needed to create a 2-minute rap video about the dangers of cybercrimes. The winner won a laptop, two tickets to see Snoop, and a year of Antivirus, on the company. Not a bad deal!
Rap Snacks
You’ve probably seen Rap Snacks in the gas station, wondering, “why are there rappers on bags of chips?” The brand’s actually been around quite some time, started in the early 2000s by chip and rap lover, James Lindsay.
The snacks started with flavors inspired by old-school rappers like Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Master P, Meek Mill, Yung Joc, Lil’ Romeo, and others. However, today, the company brings in current artists to create flavors, like Migos, Lil Boosie, Lil Yachty, Fetty Wap, and more. In fact, Rap Snacks just launched their line with Cardi B, which includes the delicious-sounding Cheddar-BBQ flavor!
Even though plenty of celebrity products fail, we all know the stars won’t stop putting their faces on boxes any time soon. So, we’ll continue to look out for unique celebrity products to try out!
Sources: RapSnacks, CNN, Jezebel, ComedyCentral