When you think of Katie Holmes, surely you think of fresh-faced Joey Potter in Dawson’s Creek, or the feisty Samantha Mackenzie in the severely underrated First Daughter (fun fact: Forest Whitaker directed that film!)
Maybe, in a pinch, you think of Tom Cruise jumping on couches.
But do you think of brands including Quaker Oats, Breyer’s Gelato Indulgences and Nabisco? Because these three brands – and more! – are just a few of the companies that have secured the 37-year-old as the face of their many and varied products.
First up, Quaker Oats, who named Katie Holmes as the ambassador for their porridge awareness campaign Oatober, “a nationwide movement to celebrate the goodness and versatility of the humble oat.”
Katie was hand-picked to spearhead the campaign by Quaker Oats’ Chief Creative Oatmeal Officer (CCOO) Samantha Stephens, because she was “an oatmeal fan”.
“Oatmeal is one of my favourite breakfast choices because it’s delicious and packed with nutrition,” Katie said in a statement at the time. “For me, and I think for most families in America, Quaker is oatmeal.”
As part of her ambassadorship, Katie nominated her favourite way to eat oatmeal. In case you’re wondering, it’s either in sweet form, with cashew milk and berries, or a more savoury variety, with truffle oil, sriracha and handfuls of seeds. “It tastes like risotto,” Holmes has said.
Next up for Katie was a fun activation on behalf of American snack food brand Nabisco. The company – which sells products including Ritz crackers and Oreos – celebrated its 115th anniversary in September, and who better to headline those festivities than Katie?
As part of her ambassadorship, Katie “surprised” unsuspecting shoppers with Nabisco products in their baskets in supermarkets in Calabasas – the breezy Californian neighbourhood best known as the home of the Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner – with $115. ($1 for every year Nabisco has been in business).
The campaign was all about bringing a moment of joy – 115 of them, to be precise – to shoppers, rewarding them for their support of the brand. And Katie, on her part, was very happy to be involved. “Love that happy face,” she wrote on her Instagram, when presenting a shopper with Ritz crackers in her basket with a cheque for $115.
The next endorsement deal just might be the strangest yet. Breyer’s gelato indulgences is a boutique ice cream brand in America, and they definitely want to get on that Katie Holmes gravy train.
The brand set up a backstage area at the Independent Spirit Awards earlier this year for winners and presenters including Brie Larson, Marion Cotillard and Amy Adams, and they roped in Katie to pose with their sweet treats for a set of promotional images.
Just how much Katie pocketed for the Breyer’s deal is unclear, but just six months ago her net worth was estimated at $25 million US. That’s a lot of ice cream, oats and Ritz crackers, that’s for sure.