Summary
- Despite not being the most obvious choice for endorsement deals, B.J. Novak's face has appeared on various products around the world.
- Even though Novak's image has been used without his permission, he has chosen not to dispute its usage.
- Novak's potential earnings from endorsement deals featuring his face could add up to millions.
When B.J. Novak was hired to star in and be a writer for The Office, he pretty much hit the lottery. The reason for that is Novak gained a slew of extremely loyal fans. After all, The Office viewers care about the cast so much that they want to know how they lose weight, and how rich the show's stars are.
On the other hand, The Office making Novak world-famous led to him getting involved in a truly strange situation. As it turns out, Novak somehow lost control of his own image, which resulted in him losing a fortune.
B.J. Novak Has Lost Millions In Endorsement Deals
From 2005 until 2014, The Office fans tuned in to watch new episodes that featured B.J. Novak's character Ryan Howard. Since Ryan Howard was an extremely shady character that nobody trusted, Novak doesn't seem like the most obvious star to get endorsement deals.
As it turns out, however, Novak's face has been used to sell a slew of different products to customers all over the world. Based on a Buzzfeed article that revealed how many products have Novak's face on them, it seems like the actor must make millions from these deals annually.
One of the products that features Novak's face on its packaging is face paint from Uruguay. Another product that uses Novak's face to entice buyers is a cologne from Sweden. While those two products seem random, there are more.
Some of the other products that are sold using Novak's face include more than one electric razor and a rain poncho. Clearly, some manufacturers believe that there is something trustworthy about Novak's face since so many of them use a photo of the actor to sell products.
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Given that those are only a small sampling of how many products use Novak's face, it is fascinating to look at how much the actor could be cashing in.
What are the most lucrative celebrity endorsement deals, according to Yahoo! Finance?
| Celebrity: | Product They Endorsed: | How Much Money They Made: |
| George Foreman | Foreman Grills | $200 Million |
| Sofia Vergara | Assorted Companies | $94.5 Million |
| 50 Cent | Vitaminwater | $60 Million to $100 Million |
| Serena Williams | Nike | $55 Million |
| Charlize Theron | Dior | $55 Million |
| Beyoncé | Pepsi | $50 Million |
| Julia Roberts | Lancôme | $50 Million |
| Britney Spears | Pepsi | Up to $50 Million |
| George Clooney | Nespresso | $40 Million |
| DJ Tiesto | 7 Up | $30 Million |
According to Yahoo! Finance, some celebrities make a fortune from endorsement deals. As a part of an article published on the website in 2010, Yahoo! Finance revealed some celebrities make tens of millions from a single endorsement deal.
Of course, Novak isn't as famous as stars like Beyoncé and Britney Spears, so it seems inconceivable that he would get the same kind of endorsement deals. Still, there are celebrities who are a lot less famous than Novak who make good money from a single sponsored post.
How much money do the highest-paid celebrities make from each sponsored post, according to Vogue Australia?
| Celebrity: | Rate For Each Sponsored Post: |
|---|---|
| Dwayne Johnson | $1,015,000 |
| Kylie Jenner | $986,000 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | $889,000 |
| Kim Kardashian West | $858,000 |
| Ariana Grande | $853,000 |
| Selena Gomez | $848,000 |
| Beyoncé | $770,000 |
| Justin Bieber | $747,000 |
| Taylor Swift | $722,000 |
| Neymar | $704,000 |
According to a 2023 Business Insider article, there is a comedy creator named Nate White who had 340,000 Instagram followers. Based on his much lower level of fame and how many followers he had, they reported that White made a base pay of $3,000 for each sponsored post.
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As that article continued, it was revealed that more famous influencers make far, far more than that for each sponsored post. In fact, the article revealed that "two micro influencers told Insider they earned six-figure yearly salaries as full-time creators."
Clearly, sponsored deals can be extremely lucrative for people with even a low level of fame. With that in mind, it is worth noting that endorsement deals pay significantly more than a single sponsored post.
At the end of the day, there is no way to know how much money Novak could be making from all the products his face appears on. What is clear, however, is that the numbers could very quickly add up and end up in the millions or even more.
With that in mind, it is staggering to learn that Novak doesn't get paid anything for any of the products that feature his face.
B.J. Novak Was Scammed Out Of Control Of His Own Image
In 2023, The New York Times published an article about the many products that feature B.J. Novak's face. As a part of that article, The New York Times revealed how Novak lost control of an image of his own face.
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"But the man in the picture, B.J. Novak, a 42-year-old actor best known for his role on 'The Office,' didn’t choose to be the face of perfume or face paint or ponchos. Someone else chose his picture and then uploaded it 'years ago' to a website where Mr. Novak believes it became part of the public domain, he said on Instagram on Monday. It could not be determined who took the original picture. That could mean the image, complete with his tousled hair and black collared shirt, is free to use without permission."
As The New York Times' article continues, they question the legality of so many companies using Novak's face for commercial reasons. However, as a Forbes article outlined, failing to enforce a trademark you own can affect your legal rights over it.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, B.J. Novak has a $10 million fortune as of December 2023.
As a result, since Novak hasn't done anything to dispute that his image is in the public domain, he may have given up any claim he could have had over that photo. Either way, even if Novak could sue to regain control over the photo of his face, he evidently isn't going to. On Instagram, Novak revealed how he feels about so many products featuring his face.
“I am too amused to do anything about it,”
