It’s fair to say that we live in a culture that’s obsessed with celebrities. According to a recent Adweek/Harris Interactive poll, many American consumers claimed that they weren’t influenced by celebrity endorsements, but that doesn’t stop advertisers from throwing the big bucks their way to plug their products. It’s a group of advertisers that includes tea merchants, among others.

While we’ve seen some high-profile celebs recruited to sell tea, there are a couple of celebrities who have gone a step further and actually lent their names to their own tea brand. Most recently, Rush Limbaugh announced a line of bottled iced tea called Two If By Tea. The bottles bear his likeness and the name, of course, is a nod to the famous Longfellow poem, Paul Revere’s Ride.

Prior to that, none other than Donald Trump lent his support to the appropriately named Trump Tea. An upscale line, Trump Tea is packaged in silk gourmet bags and is available in flavored black, green, white and herbal blends. As The Donald notes at the web site, with characteristic understatement, “You won’t find a more lavish tea drinking experience in the world than with my exclusive collection of premium blends.”

There are other celebrities who may not have their own brands of tea but have pitched in to make their pitches for other people’s lines. They include actor Hugh Jackman, who appeared in a slick commercial for Lipton Tea that was popular overseas. If that’s not enough star power for you, keep in mind that Lipton also called on rapper Eminem to plug their products in a commercial that first aired during the 2011 Super Bowl. In 2010, Bigelow Tea did their part by hiring hockey great Wayne Gretzky to push their tea, which now includes four varieties of Gretzky Green.

Last but not least is Twinings’ attempt to cash in on the phenomenal popularity of the recent royal wedding. They selected designer Alice Temperley, who created the dress for the maid of honor at said event, to put together a print that celebrates their new and improved Earl Grey tea.

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