NK made this commercial very quietly in Sydney a few weeks ago. It’s for Nintendo and it will only show in Japan. Celebrities often do this. Earn some quick buckets of cash by endorsing something in an ad that’s not shown in any countries they really care about. Like America. Or Europe. Or – in Nicole’s case – Australia. Jennifer Anniston did it with Budweiser beer. And pretty much every celebrity you can think of – with a couple vocal exceptions – have done the same thing.

But with that brand new invention called “The Internet”, it’s kinda irrelevant where the commercial was MEANT to show. BEcause everyone gets to see it. No sneaky collecting of cash from obscure markets while keeping cred intact. Not anymore.

On to more important things: is that a wig she’s wearing? I think it is. Nicole doesn’t have a fringe.

Wig or not, Nicole’s friend Russell Crowe won’t be happy. Just like he wasn’t happy when she did that Chanel commercial a couple years ago. “She asked me about it,” Crowe confirmed to a journo at the time. “I said, ‘Don’t do it’. She said, ‘It’s worth a lot of money’. I said, “Mate, don’t do it’ and she did.” On the broader subject of celebrities making ads, Russ had this to say to GQ magazine: “It is kind of sacrilegious. It’s a complete contradiction of the social contract you have with your audience. I don’t use my celebrity to make a living. I don’t do ads for suits in Spain like George Clooney or cigarettes in Japan like Harrison Ford.”

Orlando Bloom begs to differ. He argues that doing ads give some actors the financial freedom to work for small money in small, quality films instead of shlocky blockbusters. “Otherwise you have to keep doing movies where you get paid millions and millions of dollars to maintain a certain lifestyle.”

Bollocks to that, scoffs Sean Penn who insists “All power to anyone who has bills to pay, but, you know, maybe it’s time to reduce the square footage of your house.” This, from a man who lived for part of the nineties in a caravan in a field. At least he walks his talk.

Kate Winslett insists she did her American Express ad for a different reason. “I always said probably not [to advertising campaigns], but when you have kids and want to spend time with them, short shoots are good.”

Perhaps  Russ is showing his age because the words “selling out” are meaningless to Generation Y. None of this “cred” nonsense or “starving artist” rubbish. To them, fame and making money are inextricably linked.  There’s no shame in exploiting your talent, your face or your fame to get rich. You’d be a fool not to.

Anyway, it’s not like we really believe that the celebrities actually use or even like the products they endorse. But the point is cut-through, not cred. At the Oscars right around the time she made the ad, when Nicole was asked what fragrance she was wearing, she didn’t even pretend it was Chanel No. 5. She simply replied she was wearing her signature scent: a mix of essential oils she makes herself. “It’s what I always wear” she rubbed in. Sorry Chanel,  millions of bucks don’t even buy a small white lie. That’s extra.