I WANT CANDIES Fergie

Already signed on as the spokeswoman for the teen girls clothing label Candie's, Ms. Ferguson recently beefed up her role as shill with a $4 million product placement deal. In exchange for the unprecedented payday, she's agreed to write original songs that promote Candie's (though the deal doesn't say when she has to release the songs). It is the first deal of its kind—Crumbelievable, to say the least.

That's not to say Fergie doesn't join in a great tradition of teen and tween product-pushing pop stars—Destiny's Child, Vanessa Carlton, Kelly Clarkson, Ashlee Simpson, Kelly Osborne, Hilary Duff, Ashanti, and interestingly enough, Pat Benatar have all helped move various varieties of bedazzled units. (In the indie-rock world, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs has helped hock Adidas, and The Shins' music has helped sell Big Macs and Gap khakis.

None, however, have bent as far backward to please their corporate parent as the Dutchess. Candie's commercials feature direct excerpts from Fergie's music video for "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "candid" stills of the singer on set. This is "the first time a junior fashion brand has extracted their campaign from a music video," states a press release. The company is also sponsoring a tour, which features a Candie's fashion show at each stop.

"With record sales in decline, you must find novel ways to make money out of music," said a rep for Interscope (Fergie's label) in the Sunday Times, apparently having given up on the old fashion way to selling records: filling them with good music.