Katy Perry and Justin Bieber’s Commercials Pulled

In my humble opinion, it takes a confident star to be the spokesperson for a product like Proactiv, because it requires them admitting that they are not perfect, which goes against what Hollywood often tries to portray about its young beautiful stars. Singing sensations Katy Perry, 27, and Justin Bieber, 18, however, were brave enough to take the plunge and film their own commercials promoting the acne skin wash Proactiv. Unfortunately, neither commercial is allowed to air in the U.K.

Why not? Did Katie try to wear a spinning bra in hers? Did Justin try to sneak in some driving tips? Did they have exceptionally inappropriate things to say about acne? I wish; it would make a great story.

The actual reason is far less scandalous. According to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), both pop singers’ commercials are “misleading” to the British market because the British Proactiv has a different key ingredient than the American version, and the singers are, of course, American (Justin was actually born in Canada, but close enough. The point is, he’s still not British – although he did once give an entire interview in a pretty good imitation of a British accent), so their endorsements are not considered “reputable” for the British version of the skin care.

Katy’s commercial cuts to several shots of her singing in colorful skimpy outfits during various performances with her voiceover explaining that although she appears like a very confident person, she was very self-conscious about her “trouble spots” around her mouth. She said, as a singer, that is the area people focus on (although I’m willing to bet a majority of people focus on a spot a bit lower – two spots, actually), so of course she is self-conscious about it.

“It was an amazing blessing to have clear skin,” Katy says in her commercial, before giving her amazing sales pitch, “Now that I have clear skin, I’m one of those people who is like, I have the secret, here’s the secret, please take it.”

Justin’s commercial features him noticeably younger (still sporting his original side-swept Bieber-do) and pre-voice change. His commercial also comes across as far less sincere than Katy’s, as he’s obviously reading from a script. What teenager candidly says things like, “There are some things that just come with being a teenager. Your feet grow like crazy – can’t stop that. Hormones – I don’t want to stop that. And then there’s zits. I can stop that”?

Knowing the star power Katy and Justin would have in producing more sales, the Proactiv representatives reached for a loophole saying both stars had used the U.K. version of the product for “several weeks” between 2008 and 2010.

That argument hasn’t worked yet, as Katy and Justin’s commercials remain off air in the U.K. currently.