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October 3, 1995, 1:00 P.M. EST. Where were you when it happened? I was in a midtown studio with J.K. Simmons recording a radio spot for...garbage. J.K. was the voice of billion dollar trash company BFI. While I'm still writing garbage every day, JK has moved on to better things. But this day is not about J.K. It's about O.J.

Eleven years ago today, Orenthal James Simpson was found not guilty of the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.

Despite his innocence, The Juice has not enjoyed a rekindling of his bright 1970s endorsement star. The leggy NFL Hall-of-Famer became a lovable and trusted national advertising icon by running and, in one very memorable TV spot, flying through airports in the name of Hertz rent-a-car.

The celebrity endorsement has always been pure fucking gold for an ad agency. Easy to do — no costly man-hours spent thinking up pesky benefit-driven concepts. Easy to sell — powerless marketing directors get twitching chubbies from the ego-bump.

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Several 21st century consumer surveys, however, have shown that today's 18 to 34 year-olds trust celeb-pitched products about as much as they trust dropped leaflets. Ad agencies have adroitly responded by using stars more and more—about 25% of all TV ads now feature celebrities. And the celebs rarely have any connection whatsoever to the product. For example, T-Mobile has paid the mute, immobile Catherine Zeta Jones about 8 mil a year. At least a running back running through airports made a bit of sense.

Today, as OJ soaks up the sun while getting in 18 at a Miami-area golf course, let's remember what will be his last product endorsement broadcast, filmed in cin ma v rit style on June 17th, 1994: Simpson and his chauffeur Al Cowlings demonstrated the roominess and reliability, if not the acceleration, of the since-discontinued Bronco SUV on the highways of L.A.

Total Audience: 95 million. Total Cost to Ford: Zero.

Copyranter has been an NYC advertising copywriter for 14 years. He gets paid a ridiculous amount of money to be stupid.