 Justin Timberlake (AP Files)
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Some brands will forever be linked with their celebrity endorsers. What would women's wear line Kate Moss Topshop be without, well, Kate Moss? Or Gisele Bündchen's sandal line, Ipanema by Gisele, without the supermodel's name, image and unrelenting promotion?
In Pictures: Secret Celebrity Entrepreneurs
And yet other bold-face celebs have chosen a decidedly less in-your-face approach. Who but the most fanatical know that the William Rast jeans line isn't owned by anyone named William Rast, but instead is backed by the guy who "brought sexy back," crooner Justin Timberlake?
Or, that if you stop by Bess Bistro in Austin, Texas, every offering on the menu--as well as the bistro-branded Bessence candles for sale at the counter--were all crafted by actress Sandra Bullock?
The celebrities' goal in keeping a healthy distance: to maintain creative control in building sustainable brands not solely reliant on their faces or fame. The other reason: "If [the business] fails, their name isn't associated with it in a big way," says Ryan Schinman, chief executive of Platinum Rye, an entertainment consulting company representing corporations, including DirectTV (nyse: DTV - news - people ) and AT&T Wireless, that partner with celebrities.
That flame-retardant works the other way too. If a celebrity's image evolves or--perish the thought--smudges, the business can still survive.
Consider the ubiquitous Olsen twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley. Not only did the perky twosome outgrow their Disney roots, they devolved into partying, cadaverous divas (without the box office numbers to back them up). In an attempt to keep a safe distance, one of the twins' clothing lines--manufactured by L'Koral Industries, creator of Seven for All Mankind jeans--is named after their siblings, younger sis Elizabeth and older brother James. (Despite their tarnished image, the twins, now 22, don't exactly need the cash: Their branded, teen-oriented merchandise brought them a combined $15 million last year.)
No matter the marketing strategy, only businesses that meet a real need--and continue meeting it--last. "The way to build a long-term brand is to make people a fan of the product," says Ramez Toubassy, president of Brand Sense Partners, the company behind Britney Spears' line of fragrances. "A celebrity may sell a product once, but after that, the product has to sell itself." Toubassy is quick to point out that, despite Spears' very public immolation, her fragrances, including Curious, Fantasy, Midnight Fantasy and Believe, are nearing $1 billion in sales.
Not that these celebrity entrepreneurs keep their distance entirely. Take Timberlake. He didn't splash his mug (or tush) on billboards, but chose a more subtle approach. Photos of him wearing his own jeans began strategically appearing in the tabloids; Timberlake also hung out at the William Rast booth at the Men's Apparel Guild in California trade show in Las Vegas.
Now the singer-songwriter is flexing more of his marketing muscle; he recently filmed a series of Internet vignettes--appearing as the "character" William Rast, clad head-to-toe in the brand's gear--to promote the brand. Like most celebrities, Timberlake gets an upfront fee for his troubles--anywhere from $250,000 to $500,000--plus a percentage (usually around 8%) of sales.
Marketers know that, when it comes to celebrities, even a little sizzle goes a long way. "As soon as we issued a press release, we were inundated with retailers," says Toubassy, who also cut a deal with singer Sheryl Crow and Canadian manufacturer Western Glove Works to create a brand of denim apparel, Bootheel Trading Company, scheduled to roll out this fall. "There's no question that Sheryl's affiliation upped the ante dramatically." While Crow's image will be used initially in the marketing blitz, the long-term plan is to let the brand fend for itself.
Unfortunately, even the warmth of a superstar's glow fades in a frigid economy. To wit: Recent plans for a Las Vegas hotel and casino, affiliated with George Clooney and Brad Pitt, have gone nowhere. "Look at what's happened to Las Vegas real estate, and you can guess what happened there," says Platinum Rye's Schinman.
Nor should celebs get the idea that, even as the most silent of partners, they can completely sidestep a conflict with their well-crafted images. Adds Schinman: "If Robert De Niro opened a candy store, I don't know if that would be successful."
