Celebrity Cell Phones

The times when stars and celebrities were concerned about the gizmos as complement to their image have passed away long ago. Today, companies to produce different gadgets place their latest products in celebrities' hands. This is not actually an altruistic act. It is a well thought advertising policy.

Cell phones are among the top products to be gifted at different Hollywood events the most notorious being Oscar.

For example, this year Oscar nomination brought Reese Witherspoon best actress award together with a $900 Nokia 8801 cell phone. Nokia executives intended to promote their product among Witherspoon's 'mates'.

This already became a Hollywood tradition which is known as 'celebrity seeding'. Besides the fact that some celebrities agree to be the company's image, they are also 'forced' to be a company adopter by receiving the gift.

So, why are companies so insistent? Partly, because the cell phone business is ultra-competitive, then because it proves to be very efficient. And lastly, fame of the brand it is not enough for a cell phone/smart phone that's why manufacturers strive to associate certain celebrities with their products to get a star's luster.

The goal is always the same, only strategies vary. Among the most used are:

-the gift bag approach, used mainly during award season.

-invitation-only showrooms designed solely for celebrities (Motorola).

-hiring outside marketing firms to get their phones in stars' hands (Palm for Treo smart phones).

Offering gift bags or gift suites will set a company back $50,000 in entrance fees. Still it doesn't guarantee that celebrity will use that particular item just because he/she picks up the bag with your phone.

RAZR and T-Mobile's Sidekick are among the most successfully 'seeded' cell phones. They have performed well on the market. Though, you are not likely to see regular citizen with one of them.

At the time when other companies choose to appear in magazines like Forbes, People, Times and to show up at Entertainment Tonight, Motorola organizes showroom for celebrities only. This enhances personal contact with the customer and cuts off the prices for advertising.

A-listers and their cell phones

Fans may not be able to fit celebrities lifestyle, their clothes, cars and houses; but they certainly can afford some of the gadgets their idols use. Here is the list of celebrities and their cell phones.

1. Pink Motorola RAZR - Before it reached regular population, this cell phone was owned by Paris Hilton, Mischa Barton, Nicole Richie, Rachel Bilson, and Maria Sharapova.

2. BlackBerry Pearl - Tina Fey (30 Rock's), Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) and Patricia Arquette (Medium).

3. Motorola MOTOKRZR Fire - Eva Longoria and Tony Parker. It was a gift of Motorola for Valentine's Day. The nice pair of MOTOKRZR Fire cellphones was packaged in a heart-shaped box. Other celebrities who have got the same were Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, David and Courteney Cox Arquette, and Jessica Alba and Cash Warren.

4. Motion's BlackBerry Pearl - Jennifer Hudson received this cell phone in January at the Golden Globes together with the award for the Best Supporting Actress. Other stars that visited "Gift Retreat" room before the show were Patricia Arquette, Terence Howard, Adrian Grenier and Tina Fey.

5. Motorola's MOTORAZR V3i Dolce & Gabbana - one of 1,000 limited edition gold RAZR phones from Dolce & Gabbana and Motorola was made gift to Reese Witherspoon. The same cell phone seams to gain credits of Sharon Stone and Hillary Duff.

6. Nokia 8801 - Nokia provided Nokia 8801 premium phone to nominees in the leading categories. Among the happy receivers were Matt Dillon, Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow), and Paul Haggis (Crash). The gift was completed by an offer of a free year of service. Five months later, this beautiful slider was also sent to Hollywood couple Eva Longoria and Tony Parker.

7. Palm's Treo 650 - Matthew Broderick, chef Mario Batali and musician Peter Gabriel are among those who were gifted new Treo by Palm.

8. LG's Strawberry Chocolate - The sleek design, digital music player and high-quality camera which are offered by LG's Strawberry Chocolate are preferred by A-listers such as Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Jessica Alba, Snoop Dog, and Hugh Hefner.

9. Danger's T-Mobile Sidekick 3 - Hilary and Haylie Duff were the ones to get T-Mobile's Sidekick 3. NBA superstar Dwyane Wade seamed to be attracted by a regular Sidekick even before he became an official supporter.