Samuel L. Jackson has become the latest face of UK’s biggest bakery brand Warburtons, joining a series of A-list legends who have taken on the role.
In the new two minute advert the Pulp Fiction star, 74, turns his hand to the top job in the Warburtons business, alongside the bakery’s real chairman, Jonathan Warburton.
While the bread advert may not have the same gravitas as his Oscar-nominated role in Pulp Fiction, Jackson will no doubt have received a hefty cheque for his day of work.
Although bakery boss Jonathan Warburton will not disclose the exact figure he shelled out he confessed the Hollywood partnerships are a ‘huge outlay’ with Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, and George Clooney said to have received six-figure sums when they starred in his campaigns.
Now, MailOnline takes a look at the Hollywood heavyweights who swapped the silver screen for British TV adverts.
Snoop Dogg and Just Eat
In 2020 legendary rapper Snoop Dogg partnered with takeaway service Just Eat, starring in their adverts and recording a new song for the company.
The star gives the jingle ‘Did somebody say Just Eat’ a new twist in the popular advert.
He is said to have been paid £5.3 million for the 30 second clip, with a source explaining: ‘It’s easy money and the adverts have proved a hit with audiences.
‘Snoop is a legendary character so the negotiation took time and plenty of cash. But having him on board has not only driven sales, it’s given the brand a massive boost.’
The music insider added the song has proved very popular on social media and is the company’s most successful advert.
After its success in the UK, the campaign was rolled out across Europe and Australia.
Britney Spears, Kevin Bacon and EE
Golden Globe winner Kevin Bacon has been a brand ambassador for British mobile network operator EE since 2012 and has been featured in several ads for the company.
One notable advert saw him team up with Britney Spears, donning the singer’s iconic red catsuit and dancing around in front of the less than impressed pop star.
EE chief executive Marc Allera said they had chosen Spears for a recognisable and retro feel to the ad campaign, explaining: ‘We were looking for an instantly recognisable star and track with mass appeal, that Kevin could impersonate.
‘We also needed someone willing to embrace the playful nature of our ads and have a bit of fun. Britney was the perfect choice with her red rubber catsuit and her world famous Oops I did It Again track.’
Bacon is allegedly paid in the seven figure range for his EE partnership.
Mr T and Snickers
The A-Team star Mr T starred in one of Snickers’ most memorable and controversial adverts in 2008.
The clip showed the actor in a tank pulling up alongside a man exercising in tight yellow shorts before shouting: ‘Speed walking? I pity you fool. You are a disgrace to the man race. It’s time to run like a real man.’
He then forces the man to break into a sprint by taking pot shots at him with a Snickers machine gun.
It ended with Mr T uttering the slogan to the current Snickers campaign – ‘Get some nuts’.
However, just days after the advert debuted it was taken off the air following strong protests from the U.S. – despite the fact it was never shown on American television.
The U.S. lobby group Human Rights Campaign claimed the advert was homophobic, criticising Mars – which makes Snickers – for condoning ‘the notion that the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community is a group of second class citizens and that violence against GLBT people is not only acceptable but humorous’.
A spokesman for Mars said: ‘This ad is the second in a series of UK Snickers ads featuring Mr T, which are meant to be fun and have been positively received in the UK.
‘However, we understand that humour is highly subjective, and it is never our intention to cause offence. Accordingly, we have pulled the Mr T speedwalker ad globally.’
Nicole Kidman, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Compare The Market
Veteran actor and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger surprised fans in 2015 when he signed up to promote a two for one cinema offer with price comparison website comparethemeerkat.com.
In the advert, the former action hero Schwarzenegger was seen facing off against the hugely successful marketing campaign’s loveable meerkats Aleksandr and Sergei Orlov.
An insider said of the casting: ‘Arnie has worldwide appeal. He’s not going to come cheap but it will pay off in the long run.’
Later in the year, Arnie was replace by Oscar winning actress Nicole Kidman.
In the 40-second television advert, mother-of-four Nicole was seen arriving at the door of meerkat Aleksandr’s LA mansion – but proceeds to go on a date with his pal, Sergei.
Much to Aleksandr’s annoyance, the Australian actress finds Sergei adorable for using his Meerkat Movies code to take her to the cinema, and is seen stroking his face affectionately.
Gary Oldman and HTC
Three-time BAFTA winner Gary Oldman lent his star power to phone company HTC in 2014.
While Oldman is famously a method actor, he wouldn’t have needed to immerse himself too much for this role, which saw him say just three lines.
In the clip for the HTC handset One M8 smartphone, Oldman said: ‘Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
‘It doesn’t matter what I say, because the new HTC is designed for people who form their own opinions.
‘So go on then, ask the internet’.
HTC’s global marketing manager, Fiona Naughton, said of their new campaign. ‘We are investing in marketing talent to create different marketing that is not mainstream because we want people to understand the brand as well as the product.’
While it’s not known how much Oldman was paid for the advert, his predecessor Last year Robert Downey Junior was rumoured to have been paid a staggering $12 million to appear in a quirky commercial for the company.
Ryan Reynolds and BT
In 2016, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds parodied his Hollywood lifestyle in an advert for BT.
The big budget campaign featured Reynolds jumping out of cars, walking through glass doors and mass signing autographs while being unable to slow down due to his hectic lifestyle.
The advert was rolled out across TV, national press and online but ended up banned following a complaint from rival Virgin Media.
The campaign promoted its ‘up to’ 52Mb Infinity fibre service as the ‘fastest speeds vs standard entry-level fibre products of major broadband providers’, with one ad including a comparison with Sky that used speedometer graphics.
Virgin Media lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority arguing that the ad misleadingly implied BT’s 52Mb Infinity service was the fastest maximum speed service for a lowest-priced package available in the UK.
The ASA concluded that the ads were misleading and had breached the UK advertising code.
Bruce Willis and Sky Broadband
Action man Bruce Willis starred in a comical Sky Broadband advert in 2013, with the star seen sprinting into an office while in his dressing gown.
The Hollywood heavyweight is struggling with his broadband in the clip, and is unable to watch himself in Die Hard without the picture pixelating.
He ultimately ends up deciding to switch to Sky Broadband before landing a date with an attractive office worker.
However, the advert was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority because it didn’t make clear the commitment customers needed to undertake in order to take advantage of their promotional pricing.
Jackie Chan and Woolworths
Martial arts legend Jackie Chan surprised fans when he appeared in an advert for the now defunct Woolworths in 2008.
The advert was in the style of a sitcom and saw the Karate Kid star chatting to puppets of a sheep and sheepdog.
The bizarre clip saw the puppets run to Woolworths to buy clothes while Chan stayed in the house showing off his karate moves.
While it was not revealed how much Chan was paid for the advert, it may have been more than the High Street department store could afford, as the company went bust in the same year.
In a move nobody could have seen coming, Samuel L. Jackson stars in a delightfully random new commercial for the British bakery Warburton’s, and it’s quite possibly one of the greatest ads to ever exist.
In the clever commercial for Warburton’s Toastie loaf, Jackson assumes the rule of the bakery’s chairman Jonathan Warburton as the Pulp Fiction star proceeds to go off on a nasty tweet about the company’s bread. “What gives?!” a fiery Jackson responds. “What gives tweety pie is me – Jonathan Warburton. I GIVE! And hell hath no fury like a baker scorned, Steve.”
Jackson then launches into a highly entertaining romp through the company’s bread-making process that also includes paying a visit to Steve’s mom. You can watch the full Warburton’s commercial below:
When you randomly cut Samuel L. Jackson loose in a bread commercial, people are gonna notice. The Warburton’s ad is already blowing up social media where people can’t believe what they just saw. The spot is particularly melting the minds of UK residents who are familiar with Warburton’s Toastie loaf, which is probably the last product they’d associate with Jackson.
However, international audiences are absolutely loving the ad because, again, it’s Samuel L. Jackson being Samuel L. Jackson in a bread commercial. That’s not something you see every day, and kudos to the ad team who pulled it off. This isn’t their first rodeo.
You can see some of the reactions below:
(Via Warburtons on Twitter)