Hollywood Stars' Online Deals Don't Always Pan Out.

DURING the Internet gold rush of a year ago, some dot-coms anxiously enlisted the services of celebrities in the rush to differentiate themselves in the madcap market.

The alliances ranged from roles as spokespeople to much-publicized positions on boards of directors and creative teams. The deals usually involved cash, but more often there were stock options for famous folks itching to cash in on the dot-com mania.

In some instances, the marriages have been successful. However, in other cases, the joining of personality and e-commerce has been disappointing, with a growing number of celebrities seeming to second-guess the wisdom of launching their cyber-adventures without having a business mechanic look under the hood first.

"Web site celebrity campaigns have not been very successful," said Marisa Gluck, an analyst for Jupiter Communications, which conducts marketing research for e-commerce firms. "Jennifer Anniston, RuPaul, Robin Williams were all spokespeople, but I can't even remember who they worked for now."

Meanwhile, she noted, some of the true success stories -- like monster.com and E-Trade -- don't bank on celebrities either in front of the camera or in the board room.

"Successful campaigns show the value of a business and make an emotional connection with consumers," Gluck said.

Courtney Jones, president of Santa Monica-based FindWhat.com -- a Web site that promotes troubled Internet companies -- was not quite so definitive in writing off celebrity/dot-com campaigns.

"The jury is still out as to whether they work or not," he said, adding that all the blame for a failed dot-com shouldn't be put on the shoulders of a celebrity pitch-person. "These campaigns can work if there's a sound business model behind the celebrity, because they lend credibility and exposure."

That's exactly what happened in a few cases where the coupling of Web site and star have produced a successful branding of the product.

Flooz.com is an online gift currency that just renewed its two-year contract with actress/comedienne Whoopi Goldberg. The strategy has worked so well, said president and co-founder Robert Levitan, "that people think we came up with Flooz after we met Whoopi."

In the deal with Flooz, Goldberg got cash and stock options in exchange for her services as a spokeswoman, as well as her counsel on marketing strategies.

In settling on Goldberg, Levitan said, "We liked her brand attributes. To us and our audience, she is funny, but smart. She has attitude, but is dignified, and she speaks to young, old, black, white, women and men."

In October 1999, when Flooz first signed Goldberg, awareness of its site among the online set was estimated at 7 percent. In January 2000 it was up to 42 percent, and by July it had soared to 57 percent.

"We think the names Whoopi and Flooz go together," said Levitan.

Another combo that has resulted in a successful product branding is that of eStyle's founder and CEO Laurie McCartney and model/entrepreneur Cindy Crawford.

Andrea Borda, the company's vice president of marketing, is quick to point out that Crawford is not just a spokeswoman but also sits on the board of directors and provides content -- "Cindy's Corner" -- for the eStyle Web site.

And that's why they went with her.

"In choosing Cindy, we felt she represented our audience in terms of being a busy woman, somebody our customers could feel comfortable with; an intelligent person who had pursued a career beyond being a model," Borda explained.

The idea was not merely about the signing of a celebrity to gain needed attention in a crowded field, but also part of a long-term strategy. It was decided that Crawford -- a new mom -- would be able to advise other mothers, not necessarily on child-rearing but on products.

As her infant son matures, Crawford can move out of the "Babystyle" page and on to those pages involving older kids. "She can grow with the Web site," Borda said.

Borda said eStyle's research confirms that having Crawford on board makes sense, and that "Cindy's Corner" enjoys a relatively high hit-rate on the Web site, and that the products she promotes are doing well.

Success, of course, can be measured in different ways.

Certainly, Priceline.com's high-profile use of William Shatner did a good job of jump-starting the actor's career, as well as drawing attention to the site.

Signing the "Star Trek" star was not done on a whim, according to Mike Darcy, a company spokesman.

Although the television commercials have collected lots of attention in the past year, the Priceline ad campaign actually began in 1998 with a number of radio spots.

"We needed a voice that was instantly recognizable," said Darcy. "Two words out of his mouth and you know it's William Shatner." Also needed was someone who could project a sense of the future, and who better to do that than the legendary starship captain.

Gluck said Priceline was one of the first in its field to make use of a celebrity Spokesperson.

"They've done really well playing up the kitschy aspects of (Shatner's) little-known musical career," she said.

Of course, in recent weeks, the bottom has fallen out of Priceline's bottom line. So even though Shatner's media persona is back on the radar screen, thanks to his relationship with the Web site, the stock options that were a part of his signing package are worth a lot less now than they were at the time he inked the deal.

So for Shatner, the relationship wasn't as rewarding as it might have been. "Maybe the business model didn't live up to the creativity of the television campaign," suggested Find What's Jones.

And the lesson for other stars contemplating dot-com pitch deals? "I'm sure they'll be looking for the cold, hard cash from now on," said Gluck.