Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/7-celebrities-who-started-in-commercials-before-hollywood/
Long before red carpets and awards speeches, a surprising number of A-list actors spent their early years pitching ketchup, toothpaste, and fast food to American living rooms. It’s an odd rite of passage in the entertainment business, one that rarely makes it into highlight reels once the movie roles start rolling in. Yet these small screen beginnings often shaped the comic timing, camera confidence, and thick skin that later served these performers well on much bigger sets.
Sarah Michelle Gellar and the Burger King feud that landed her in court
Before she was staking vampires as Buffy Summers, Sarah Michelle Gellar was a five year old at the center of a genuine corporate lawsuit. In 1981, Sarah Michelle Gellar made her small-screen debut, not in a supernatural teen drama, but in a Burger King commercial, and she found herself in legal trouble because of it. The ad broke advertising norms of the time by naming a direct competitor rather than hinting at it.
The ad was the first of its kind, taking direct aim at its rival by using its name, so in 1982, McDonald’s sued Burger King and ad agency J. Walter Thompson, naming Gellar as the star of multiple ads. The dispute eventually settled and the campaign was pulled, but it left a lasting mark on the young actress. She has said that while “Banned is a strong word,” she “wasn’t allowed to eat” at McDonald’s…
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Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-07-30 08:24:00
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