Last night Jamie Oliver appeared in his 100th advertisement for Sainsbury's since signing on as the face of the supermarket back in 2000. He has proved to have a Teflon image - hardly putting a foot wrong in a relationship that earlier this year was extended, for a bargain £1m, to seven years. (Although his wife was once snapped shopping at Waitrose!)
His TV chef-turned-health campaigner image has indirectly proved a free-advertising bonanza for Sainsbury's.
It could be argued that it was the 2002 launch of the Jamie's School Dinners show, and subsequent re-invention of Oliver as a People's Champion, that stopped a backlash against what at the time was threateing to become cheeky-chappy overkill.
Although Sainsbury's was far from impressed recently when he frustratingly called parents giving their children crisps or fizzy drinks "idiots", "lazy", "tossers and arseholes".
As Patrick Smith, European chief executive of FutureBrand, argues: "He represents one of the most successful personality-meets-corporation relationships out there today. "
"His personal brand is in the ascendancy and he has gone beyond celebrity chef to deal with major health and diet issues. He personifies the brand."
Apparently, the single most popular ad in that time was the launch of the "try something new today" campaign. The ad featured nutmeg and Sainsbury's had to order nine tons - or two years' supply - to keep up with demand.
Now he has joined the "hundred club" he joins other long running tie-ups including the famous decade-long Tesco ads featuring Prunella Scales as Dotty - which were canned several years ago.
And hats off to any man that can cause a 290% surge in the sales of asparagus.
