10 American celebrities in embarrassing foreign TV ads

It used to be that a famous American celebrity could make a quick buck overseas starring in a TV commercial he would never dream of making stateside. The only way an American could catch Hulk Hogan hawking Hitachis in Japan was if a friend overseas taped it off air.

That is no longer the case. In light of the attention the dancing Hugh Jackman billboards in Moscow have been getting, we now look back at foreign commercials starring American celebrities that were never meant to be see by American audiences.

1. Cindy Crawford – Pocari Sweat (Japan, 1986)

2. Snoop Dogg – vybemobile (Germany, 2008)

3. Uma Thurman – Schweppes (France, 2011)

4. Hulk Hogan – Hitachi Bigflow (Japan, 1991)

5. Paris Hilton – GoYellow.de (Germany, 2006)

6. Nicolas Cage – Fever Pachinko (Japan)

(more Pachinko action here)

7. Michael J Fox – Shimano (Japan, 1992)

8. George Clooney – Emidio Tucci (Spain, 2002)

9. Meg Ryan – Navi Navi Dingo (Japan, 1995)

10. Arnold Schwarzenegger – Yosh (Japan)

For 11 minutes of Arnold-in-Japan check out his complete Japanase commercial reel.

For more US celebs in Japan, check out Japander.com.

What’s your favorite foreign commercial starring an American celebrity?

Tags: ads, celebrities, commercials, foreign