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Q: Pain Relief Products - Celebrity Endorsers ( Answered 4 out of 5 stars,   0 Comments )
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Subject: Pain Relief Products - Celebrity Endorsers
Category: Arts and Entertainment > Celebrities
Asked by: rmc25-ga
List Price: $200.00
Posted: 02 Dec 2004 17:13 PST
Expires: 01 Jan 2005 17:13 PST
Question ID: 437361
I would like a list of ten celebrities who have endorsed pain relief
products. Would like name of celebrity, name of product and approx
dates of endorsement(s). Thank you.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Pain Relief Products - Celebrity Endorsers
Answered By: pinkfreud-ga on 08 Dec 2004 19:57 PST
Rated:4 out of 5 stars
 
I have compiled a list of 25 celebrities who have endorsed fourteen
different pain relief products, and references which provide
approximate time scales for some of these endorsements.

1.  Evel Knievel, Professional Daredevil (The Stimulator)
2.  Bill Walton, Pro Basketball Star (The Stimulator)
3.  Lee Meriwether, Actress and former Miss America (The Stimulator)
4.  Billy Casper, Professional Golfer (The Stimulator)
5.  James Coburn, Actor (Lignisul)
6.  Dorothy Hamill, Olympic Figure Skating Champion (Vioxx)
7.  Jack Nicklaus, Professional Golfer (The Egoscue Method)
8.  Rudy Tomjanovich, Pro Basketball Coach (Muscle Wonder Spray)
9.  Jerry Lewis, Actor/Comedian (Medtronic Neurostimulator)
10. Tony Gwynn, Pro Baseball Player (C.M. Cream)
11. Douglas Wakiihuri, Olympic Marathoner (Percutane)
12. Michael Jones, New Zealand Rugby Star (Percutane)
13. Eroni Clarke, New Zealand Rugby Star (Percutane)
14. Dale Warrender, New Zealand Cross-Country Champion (Percutane)
15. Mark Butcher, UK Cricketer (Migra-Cap)
16. Gary Player, Professional Golfer (Q-Ray)
17. Sean Fister, Professional Golfer (Q-Ray)
18. Peter Jacobsen, Professional Golfer (Q-Ray)
19. Jim Colbert, Professional Golfer (Tectonic magnetic bracelet)
20. Bob Murphy, Professional Golfer (Tectonic magnetic bracelet)
21. Dan Marino, Pro Football Player (Tectonic magnetic bracelet)
22. Hank Aaron, Baseball Hall of Famer (Tectonic magnetic bracelet)
23. Kathleen Turner, Actress (Enbrel)
24. Cyd Charisse, Dancer (Arctic Spray)
25. Olympia Dukakis, Actress (Lidoderm)

DOCUMENTATION:

"...the Stimulator, which was marketed as a device that would send an
electric current into acupressure points to relieve pain. The device
was actually a modified gas grill igniter. Some 800,000 of these
gizmos were sold between 1994 and 1997 with the help of national TV
infomercials featuring celebrities like daredevil Evel Knievel,
basketball star Bill Walton, and actress Lee Merriweather."

The Skeptic's Dictionary: Newsletter 43
http://skepdic.com/news/newsletter43.html

"Did you purchase a 'Stimulator' pain relief device between May 4,
1995 and December 22, 1997? If so, the Better Business Bureau (BBB)
advises that you NOW have until November 5, 2001, to request a refund.

The Stimulator and an accessory known as the Xtender were sold
nationwide through infomercials and print advertisements featuring
celebrities like Evel Knievel, Billy Casper, Bill Walton and Lee
Merriweather. The Stimulator is essentially a gas grill igniter fitted
with finger grips; the Xtender enabled purchasers to use the
Stimulator on hard to reach parts of their body. In January 2001 a
federal judge ordered that refunds be offered to all eligible
consumers who bought the Stimulator or the Xtender between May 4,
1995, and December 22, 1997."

Better Business Bureau: Deadline Approaches for "Stimulator" Refunds!
http://www.spokane.bbb.org/alerts/alerts.html?newsid=29&newstype=1

"Lignisul is the Product endorsed by James Coburn on Larry King Live.
On Monday night, April 3, 2000, CNN's Larry King Live featured a
discussion on MSM [Methylsulfonylmethane] with actor James Coburn and
his Doctor, Dr. Ronald Lawrence, author of the book "The Miracle of
MSM: The Natural Solution for Pain". Coburn, badly crippled with
rheumatoid arthritis and in a great deal of pain to the point where he
could not walk in 1990, discussed how MSM has allowed him to be pain
free for the past year. Dr. Lawrence noted that Coburn used Lignisul
exclusively."

Whole Health: Methylsulfonylmethane
http://www.health-pages.com/pain/ms.html

"A few years ago, Dorothy Hamill emerged as one of the most effective
celebrity spokespersons, with her trustworthiness and likability
translating into robust sales for Vioxx. But Vioxx was withdrawn from
the market in September [2004] after clinical trials confirmed an
increased risk of heart disease and strokes."

SFGate: Behind celebrity endorsements 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/11/07/INGNL9LR191.DTL

"I am not a believer in 'methods.' I'm a believer in fundamentals.
That's still my view when it comes to golf, but as for an aching back
and the rest of the body, I do believe in a method: the Egoscue
Method. I have been to many specialists around the world, and yes, a
few enabled me to achieve some marginal and temporary relief from
pain. But never had I experienced such complete relief as I have by
following the Egoscue Method."

From the Foreword by Jack Nicklaus, "The Egoscue Method of Health
Through Motion." Publication Date: August 1993

Egoscue: Pete Egoscue's Books
http://www.egoscue.com/htdocs/Products/books.asp

"Houston, February 1, 2002:  Houston based, Novum Solutions, Inc.
announced today the signing of a marketing agreement with Houston
Rockets Head Coach Rudy Tomjanovich for its Muscle Wonder product
line.  The agreement calls for Rudy T to be the spokesperson for the
Muscle Wonder product line and authorizes the use of his name and
likeness in marketing efforts.  Rudy T will also make celebrity
appearances as part of the agreement."

Novum Solutions: News and Events 
http://www.novumsolutions.com/Page2.html#Feb%201%20News%20Release

"Years of hurling himself to the ground for laughs culminated in a
crash landing onto a steel cable that chipped his spine and
temporarily left [Jerry] Lewis paralyzed in 1965. For the next 37
years, he says, he had pain every day...

Two doctors decided to try something different with Lewis... to
determine whether neurostimulation could arrest the pain. Sometimes
called a 'pain pacemaker,' the device delivers a precisely controlled
low-voltage electrical impulse to the spinal cord to interfere with
pain signals traveling to the brain.

Lewis says he experienced immediate, 100 percent relief... He
contacted Medtronic, the world's biggest maker of pacemakers and other
implantable medical devices, and offered to be a spokesman for the
company, which makes and sells his particular neurostimulator."

Dallas/Fort Worth Star-Telegram: How Jerry Lewis found relief from chronic pain
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/entertainment/5468748.htm?1c

"C.M. Cream contains a proprietary blend of cetyl myristele, cetyl
myristoleate, and other cetyl esters. These ingredients have captured
significant attention recently as researchers and scientists attempt
to find effective ingredients in the fight against joint pain and
disease...
 
Baseball legend and eight-time National League batting champion, Tony
Gwynn, experienced such incredible personal results that he is now the
Imagenetix company spokesman for the product."

BoldWebs: The Latest Advancement for Treating Sport Aches and Arthritis Pain!!!
http://www.boldwebs.com/9a.htm

"Percutane was first developed by Warwick Lightbourne of the Cornwall
Injury Clinic in Auckland, New Zealand in 1982. It is the product of
many years experience dealing with injuries of all types. In sport and
recreation, Percutane has been used and endorsed by Kenyan World
Champion Marathoner and Olympian Douglas Wakiihuri, Former NZ All
Blacks Michael Jones and Eroni Clarke, NZ Marathon and Cross-Country
Champion Dale Warrender plus numerous other NZ and international
teams."

Clinical Technology Ltd: Tried everything still no results?
http://www.clin-tech.com/html/percutane.html

"As a long term migraine sufferer I am delighted to have discovered
the Migra-Cap. I wholeheartedly endorse this product for migraine
relief to any migraine and headache sufferer.

Mark Butcher, Surrey and England Cricketer"

Migra-Cap: Welcome to Migra-Cap
http://www.migracap.com

"Q-Ray makes a concentrated, ionized, multi-metallic item it calls a
Performance Bracelet...According to Q-Ray, use of the bracelet can
enhance athletic performance, increase power and relieve pain by
helping to balance positive and negative ions in the body...

Q-Ray's most prominent golf spokesman is Hall of Famer Gary Player.
National Long Drive champ Sean 'The Beast' Fister and veteran pro
Peter Jacobsen also endorse it."

Golf Web: Brace yourself: Magnets attracting converts 
http://www.golfweb.com/u/ce/multi/0,1977,1556726,00.html

"Tectonic
A wide gamut of products, all containing various magnets and tailored
to varying body segments, are offered: back wrap; ankle, knee, wrist
and elbow supports; insoles for shoes; headbands; necklaces and
bracelets.

According to the company, 'Tectonic magnets provide pain relief,
improved circulation, comfort, and are safe and drug-free.'...

SENIOR PGA TOUR pro Jim Colbert is a leading proponent of Tectonic
products, saying, "Without a Tectonic magnetic bracelet on each wrist,
I wouldn't be able to play golf."

Other pro golfers using Tectonic products include Bob Murphy and Donna
Andrews, while Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and baseball Hall
of Famer Hank Aaron also endorse them."

GolfWeb: Brace yourself: Magnets attracting converts
http://www.golfweb.com/u/ce/multi/0,1977,1556726,00.html 

"July 11, 2002  |  Kathleen Turner was on television recently talking
about her pain and suffering... battling rheumatoid arthritis for over
a year now...
Turner then went on to mention a Web site, www.ra-access.com, where
fellow sufferers could get help. Sawyer eagerly repeated the site's
address in case viewers missed it.

All of this would have been your standard bit of early-morning show
chitchat if Turner had not been paid by two drug companies to speak
out about her illness. 'She gets a fee,' confirms Robin Shapiro, a
spokeswoman for Immunex, a bio-pharmaceutical company, which along
with Wyeth, funded a media campaign for which Turner was hired to do a
number of TV and print interviews.

The two companies jointly manufacture an arthritis drug called Enbrel.
They also happen to operate the Web site that Turner and Sawyer
plugged as so helpful to arthritis sufferers."
 
Salon: Celebrity pill pushers
http://archive.salon.com/mwt/feature/2002/07/11/celebrity_drugs/

"Dazzling dancer Cyd Charisse has made the greatest leap of her life -
from musical star to business tycoon. When most seniors are enjoying
retirement, Cyd attends weekly business meetings and travels the
country to promote her over-the-counter product, Arctic Spray. Cyd
developed Arctic Spray after trying unsuccessfully to find a product
to ease her mother's arthritis pain. Cyd met with a chemist and
together they came up with a formula."

Arctic Spray: Cyd Charisse Biography 
http://www.arcticspray.com/html/as_cyd.HTM

"On May 23, 2000, actress Olympia Dukakis appeared on the Fox News
channel to talk about her mother's battle with post-herpetic neuralgia
(PHN), a debilitating condition brought on by shingles. Her mother
'would sit muted in pain,' Dukakis told viewers. 'She couldn't even
touch her hair. That's how painful it can get.' Dukakis then went on
to say that others need not suffer like her mother did, that there are
new, better treatments out there. 'In fact, there is one solution,'
she said. 'It's called lidocaine or lidopatch.'

PHN sufferers who went to their doctors and asked about lidocaine or
lidopatch would have found out that there is only one drug Dukakis
could have been speaking about, Lidoderm. Lidoderm is a patch that
right now is the only formulation of lidocaine approved by the FDA to
treat PHN. It also happens to be manufactured by Endo Pharmaceuticals,
which was paying Dukakis to do the Fox interview."

Salon: Celebrity pill pushers
http://archive.salon.com/mwt/feature/2002/07/11/celebrity_drugs/index1.html

My Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "celebrity endorsements" pain
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22celebrity+endorsements%22+pain

Google Web Search: "endorsed by" pain relief OR reliever
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22endorsed+by%22+pain+relief+OR+reliever

Google Web Search: "advertised by" pain relief OR reliever
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22advertised+by%22+pain+relief+OR+reliever

I hope this is helpful. If anything is unclear or incomplete, or if a
link doesn't work for you, please request clarification; I'll gladly
offer further assistance before you rate my answer.

Best regards,
pinkfreud
rmc25-ga rated this answer:4 out of 5 stars

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