What company was the first to use celebrities/athletes to promote their product?

Question

Who was the celebrity?

Answer 1

Wheaties

Answer 2

The Curtiss Candy Company, which first marketed Baby Ruth candy bars in 1920; depending on your source, the product was either named after the baseball player Babe Ruth, or Ruth Cleveland the daughter of former President Grover Cleveland.
Wheaties did not become associated with athletes until 1933.

Answer 3

You may be going further back in history than you know. For example, the thing about being "by appointment to the Queen" in British advertising, which is probably almost as old as advertising itself.

And where, exactly, would you put that? If you figure print advertising, that would probably be early in the 1700s, as weekly newspapers began to be printed which included advertising. Once movable type made that easy early in the industrial revolution, I am sure the advertisements about who their famous customers were had already been exploited beyond the current King or Queen.

Answer 4

I know that in 1909 a tobacco company put little pictures in their products - the first baseball cards. That was done as a promotion.

Answer 5

Wheaties

Answer 6

Joe Namath was the first male athlete to advertise pantyhose.

Answer 7

Players tobacco.

Answer 8

actually I believe that goes back to the time of Roman gladiators

Answer 9

car dealers or fast food joints

Answer 10

Nike!!