Forget that $10,000 just to get out of bed each day, the models of today are facing a crisis that might see them joining dole cues across the globe. The traditional turf of these poor human coat-hangers is increasingly being taken over by actors, musicians and professional heiresses, with the likes of Scarlett, Keira and even Paris gracing the covers of high end fashion campaigns that used to glorify only the Kates and Elles and Claudias of this world. Iconic fashion and cosmetic labels are turning to mainstream star power to represent their products, with Television temptresses and Film fatales now emblazoning billboards and Vogue pages, selling everything from Mascara to that thousand dollar handbag you’ve been lusting after.

Pouring through a fashion mag last week, trying to find the actual reading material, I might have been forgiven for thinking I had actually brought a New Idea. So many products endorsed by the [uber airbrushed] likes of Sharon Stone (for Dior watches), Catherine Zeta Jones (Elizabeth Arden) and Scarlett Johansson (Louis Vuitton). This led me to consider what provokes these multi-million dollar companies to choose popular actors over professional models to be the 'face' of their labels. And also what kind of consumers have we become to need celebrity endorsement to help us with our fashion choices.

Now I'm not talking about celebrities who help design a fashion collection (such as Gwen Stefani, Sienna Miller, Kate Moss and Madonna), nor those who help 'design' their own brand of perfume - [Anyone who has smelt J'Lo's 'Glow' will know what is meant by "stinging nostrils"]. I’m talking about situations such as Chanel's decision to make Keira Knightley the 'face' of "Coco Mademoiselle."

Let's just go back in time, two decades ago, to when Claudia Schiffer was a young simple German fraulein. Karl Lagerfeld himself plucked young Claude out of obscurity to become the new face of Chanel, thrusting her into the status of the original supermodel elite. How does making the young see-through thin toothy Brit Knightly as your new muse help the wannabe Claudia's-in-waiting who don't have a breathless costume drama role to take on in the meantime? Can you even name five current 'supermodels' who can fill the busy shoes of those nineties staples Claudia, Naomi, Elle, Helena and Rachel?

Speaking of has-beens, move over Cindy Crawford, Revlon is now the territory of Halle Berry, Beyonce, Eva Longoria and Aishwarya Rai. You can even buy their own personal lipsticks - which is a little like stalking them and wearing their clothes. These 'spokes models' tend to be ranked in a similar fashion to the labels themselves. If you pay a little more, you get Dior with Monica Belluci – voted the most beautiful woman in the world. Would you rather be a television housewife or an Italian mega starlet?  It's your choice! Or if you would prefer a cheap home dye, try Sarah Jessica Parker – recently voted the world's most unsexiest woman - she's the face of Garnier. Bet they wish they got Angelina.

When Penelope Cruz utters that L'Oreal phrase 'because I'm worth it,' I expect it is probably through clenched teeth. The Mascara giant was recently discovered to have 'enhanced' Pene's luxurious Spanish lashes for their 'Telescopic' mascara campaign,  also falsely claiming to make your eyelashes '60%' longer. Which leads me to think, how many of these celebrities actually use or wear these products? I mean, can you imagine that SJP actually dyes her hair at home in the basin? Or that Madonna pops down to her local H&M for a trendy bomber? I guess 'integrity' and marketing don't really go hand-in-hand. 

Let's be honest, many of these campaigns make perfect sense. I mean Catherine Zeta Jones is obviously the ideal spokes-model for the 'Mediterranean' range, being that she grew up in tropical Wales and all. Seriously, though, there is plenty of logic in casting the stars. I mean, every man over the age of thirty lusts after Cath, so when it comes to Christmas presents they will all line up with an armful of Elizabeth Arden products for their wives in the hope some of it will actually rub off and make true Michael Douglases of them all.

Of course actual Models are still modelling many of the big names. Gemma Ward can be seen in Prada and Kate Moss is still the face of products ranging from Rimmel to Dior, [despite losing Burberry and H&M contracts following that cocaine scandal.] The huge market differentiation in these two labels – with Rimmel as an urban/street cosmetics company with 'Get the London look' as a slogan and Dior as the pinnacle of classic high-end labels - speaks of the diversity of Kate's look and the value of keeping real models for fashion campaigns. With Gemma Ward flitting between boho gypsy chic on the cover of Vogue Australia (October 2007), to the sleek dark lines of Prada inside further reinforces how it takes a bit more then flashing your teeth [or knickers] at the camera to sell real fashion.

Other models are now obviously getting desperate, with Amazonian princess Giselle Bundchen moving from Victoria's Secret to Novo shoes and Heidi Klum designing Birkenstocks – I mean, who even looks at these girl's feet? Then there are the Model slash Actors. Fabio, anyone?  

If it wasn’t bad enough that celebrities are getting paid to sell knickers and jeans, now they’re trying to get their kids on the act too. In a bizarre move, Australian label Dotti has now enlisted the 'face' of Bob Geldof’s eldest daughter Peaches to promote their clothing range. Why, amongst the growing number of gorgeous Australian models, would you go for a sulky looking spoilt rock heiress from the other side of the world? Then there is the rumour that hairy little Suri Cruise is destined to become the face of Baby Gap. What next, the Jolie-Pitt children for United Colours of Benetton?

In the world of odd campaign choices, few seem as strange as Anna Nicole Smith as the face of Guess Jeans all those years ago. It could be stranger.  I guess Michael Jackson would be a scary choice for face-mask fashion and can you just imagine Meatloaf in a Speedo commercial…shudder…

While we are on the topic, I should also make mention of those smooth talking men folk who make fashion labels sell pants like hot cakes (or hot pants). Adrian Brody is a spokes model for Ermenegildo Zegna, while Brad Pitt has made time stand still with his Tag Heuer watch campaign. Ah yes, nothing to complain about there.
  
But do these famous faces actually make us want to buy the products? Most of us are pretty attuned to the air-brushing and figure slicing that goes on in advertising, but we somehow still believe the claims of 'flawless' and 'wrinkle free' beauty. I think it is also pretty normal to want to emulate the unattainable attractiveness of Pene, Cath and Aishwarya. If something looks good, we are more likely to covet it, so it is only fitting to put it on someone with a body two inches from perfection, even if they are not a professional 'trained' model. Regardless of whether or not they actually use the skincare range or wear those massive heels. At least we know that athletes actually use the freebies they get from fronting the big Adidas and Nike promotions. But do 'real people' campaigns, like those used by Dove, work better? Well I know I’m still stocking up on my Dove tanning moisturiser - although if I could afford Dior…

Fundamentally, what is also pretty obvious is that these familiar faces, faces we see almost every single day in one way or another, still manage to always capture our gaze. It is because we are fascinated by them, by their public and private lives, that makes them such great fodder for the fashion industry. These big labels know we will take a double take if it is Scarlett in the buff with a handbag instead of some androgynous nobody. And let's be honest, most of us girls don't go and see a Brad Pitt movie for intellectual stimulus, just like we don’t buy $4000 heels for their practicality.  

Whether we are drawn into a fantasy world or if we just buy something because it sounds good, consumers will continue to be challenged by the manipulative forces of advertising. All I want to know is… when do we get to the articles?