Jessica`s Beer Endorsement; Michael Phelps Slammed for Endorsing Frosted Flakes
ANDERSON: Did you see this? This pinhead is touring the Olympics in Beijing with tiny flags from all 205 competing nations sticking out of his head. He`s an acupuncturist and he`s in the Guinness Book of World Records for once sticking almost 1,800 needles in his head and face. Wow. Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Tonight, two of the world`s most famous people are caught in the middle of two big controversies over stuff they`re endorsing. First, Jessica Simpson wants you to be smart just like her. She`s endorsing a new so-called "smart" beer that`s supposed to be enriched with vitamins. So yes, the A-list celebrity is now schilling(ph) beer. Olympic champion Michael Phelps wants you to be strong just like him. Instead of appearing on a Wheaties cereal box, the eight-time gold medal winner is being criticized for endorsing sugar-packed Frosted Flakes. With me here in Hollywood, founder of Fifteen Minutes Public Relations Howard Bragman; and editor-at-large for "Star" magazine, Ben Widdicombe. Ben, Howard, I want to begin with Ms. Jessica Simpson. You know she became a household name with her MTV reality show, "Newlyweds." By the time that show ended, she had her own shoe line, her own hair extension line. And now, Jessica is the new face of Stampede Light Plus. Yes, it`s a beer that`s being produced by a company in her home state of Texas, and it`s being sold as a beer full of vitamins. Howard, is this smart marketing? Put a hot girl like Jessica in the ad, and guys will go out and buy more vitamin-enhanced beer?</s>HOWARD BRAGMAN, FOUNDER, FIFTEEN MINUTES PUBLIC RELATIONS: Absolutely, Brooke. You know, 24 hours ago, we hadn`t even heard of this beer, had we? And now, it`s on everyone`s lips, so that`s pretty smart. But then, you know, this company can`t afford to buy an ad in the Super Bowl like the big boys. So by getting Jessica there, they get everyone to talk about it. And for her credit, Jessica cut a pretty smart deal because she doesn`t just get paid for being in the commercial. She owns 15 percent of the company. So, you go, Jessica. That`s a smart girl.</s>ANDERSON: Yes, she`s an entrepreneur, and she says she was looking for ways to diversify her portfolio. It seems she`s done that with this. This beer is being put out by a Dallas company. It`s worth-noting guys that Jessica is dating a Dallas Cowboy, Tony Romo. And with her new album, she really is trying to make the crossover into country music. Ben, is nutrient-rich beer exactly what she needs to make the final transition to being a country star?</s>BEN WIDDICOMBE, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "STAR" MAGAZINE: I think it`s an enormously smart move on Jessica`s part. It shows that she knows who she is. She knows who her country audience is. I mean, Daisy Duke doesn`t drink</s>ANDERSON: Yes. And Jessica says she takes care of herself, but then, hey, she likes a cold beer once in a while just like everybody else. All right. I want to move now to Michael Phelps. Olympic champs, you know, have traditionally graced Wheaties boxes. But Phelps has made a radical decision. He`s going with Kellogg`s and he`s going to be on boxes of cornflakes and boxes of Frosted Flakes - yes, Frosted Flakes, the sugar- coated cereal which I love. But nutritionists have slammed him for endorsing a cereal that is so full of sugar. Howard, a generation has grown up eating sugared cereal and they`ve turned out OK. What`s the big whoop?</s>BRAGMAN: Well, the big whoop is Michael Phelps isn`t just on the Olympic gold medal pedestal. He`s on the pedestal of public opinion, and when you`re this hero, whatever you do is subject to criticism. If he wants to be a good hero, he`s going to have to develop a really thick skin because that`s what heroes do. But I think it was a good move for him. It`s authentic to him. He likes Frosted Flakes. He consumes tens of thousands of calories a day and he needs them.</s>ANDERSON: Yes, he does. He`s very active. Ben, do you think that the whole hullabaloo thing is much ado about nothing here?</s>WIDDICOMBE: Well, I don`t know. I think Michael has to be very careful about his reputation. And I`m not sure if you can say it`s fine that we eat sugary cereal when you look at the obesity epidemic in this country and how people are eating all the wrong things. I think that Michael Phelps should be an icon of eating right, eating healthy. So I`m not sure it`s the best move for him.</s>ANDERSON: But Ben, don`t parents need to be involved in what their kids eat? It`s not Michael Phelps` fault if they don`t oversee what their child is choosing at the grocery store.</s>WIDDICOMBE: You can`t underestimate the power of marketing, especially the children. People under 10 may see Michael on the television. When they`re in the supermarket, when they see Michael on a box of Wheaties or a box of Frosted Flakes, the kids are going to reach for that box. So that`s why he`s worth so much money. And I think kids are going to make choices based on what he`s endorsing.</s>ANDERSON: Well, speaking of the money, you know, it is worth-noting that he`s been on the Wheaties box before. So, Howard, why do you think this happened? Is it just his cereal preference, or is it really all about the endorsement bucks?</s>HOWARD: Well, let`s not overlook the millions of dollars he gets for being on the Kellogg`s box. But you also have to understand he trained at the University of Michigan - go blue, we`re proud of that. And you know, he has an allegiance to Michigan and Kellogg`s is based there. And Michigan can use the help right now. The economy is not so good there. So let`s give Kellogg`s a break.</s>ANDERSON: Yes.</s>BRAGMAN: Let`s say, "Good job, Michael." Come on. Wheaties has had enough on the cover.</s>ANDERSON: Congratulations on what you achieved. It`s not like he`s saying, "Eat this all day, every day kids." All right. We`ll leave it there for now. Howard Bragman, Ben Widdicombe, thank you both. Now, the presidential election is getting close to the homestretch, but can Hollywood take any of the credit for the fact that the United States may elect its first black president? After all, TV shows and movies had a black president way before we even heard of Barack Obama. I`m going to look into that, coming up. Also this -</s>MATT WHITTON, FORMER POLICE OFFICER: That`s all this was, was a big joke. It kind of - it got into something way bigger than what it was supposed to be.</s>ANDERSON: Yes, that was one of the guys who claimed they found Bigfoot`s corpse. Too bad it turned out to be a rubber suit. But get this, that guy behind the hoax is a police officer. What in the world would possess him to do this? That is straight ahead. And John Edwards mistress, Rielle Hunter, on a game show? I`m not kidding. I`ve got the video to prove it, and that is next on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Hey, be sure to check out the free ever-changing SHOWBIZ TONIGHT podcast. You can find that on our Web site, CNN.com/ShowbizTonight, or just download it on iTunes by simply typing "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" in that search box. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is back after this.