Your Favorite Celebs & The Japanese Commercials They Don’t Want You To Know About

Last month, the Internet was buzzing about the discovery of an old Japanese McDonald’s commercial supposedly starring Taylor Swift. Though Swiftie has yet to confirm if it was her — or if the fast-food chain just hamburgled her image — we know for a fact that plenty of her famous friends have done ads in Japan.

Big celebs have classically eschewed offers to plug products on TV in the U.S., probably to avoid cheapening their allure as a serious acteur. But, the fact that Japanese brands are willing to drop stacks of yen on endorsements by Hollywood stars that their fans overseas will never see (as the actor Dennis Hopper put it, “If I could do one of these every year, I could retire”), means that tons of A-listers have been more than willing to lend their celebrity to Japanese commercials.

Some stars have even reportedly gone as far as including a secrecy clause in their contract to ensure that the ads never leave the country. That strategy might have worked before YouTube — but thanks, Internet, for making it possible for us to enjoy some of our favorite stars turning Japanese in these often-zany ads.