Retailers Rely on Star Power for Fall

Companies have been using celebrity faces to sell products since the early 1900s', when cigarette packets were bought just as often for the famous baseball cards as for the product inside. Today, you can't sit through a commercial break without seeing familiar famous faces appear, often more than once.

With celebrities acting both as representatives for products and as owners of their own lines, capitalizing on another's success is an everyday occurrence for big brands like Pepsi, Neutrogena and others. This fall, expect popular retailers to increase their focus on celebrity sellers, hoping to bring in the back-to-school spenders.

Advertising Age provides a run-down of some of the bigger players, expanded here:

KOHL'S - Avril Lavigne is will be partnering with Kohl's this year, joining Daisy Fuentes, Vera Wang, Tony Hawk, Lenny Kravitz, Hayden Panettiere, Vanessa Carlton, the Plain White T's and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

SEARS - Welcomes LL Cool J to launch of his apparel line for juniors, young men and children. Sears also features Ty Pennington's furniture collection and High School Musical star, Vanessa Hudgens, will star in their back-to-school ad campaign.

WAL-MART - Father-son team Master P and Romeo join sisters Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, continuing the tradition of family lines at Wal-Mart. P. Miller Designs is set to launch its P. Miller and Miller Peaches lines, featuring cheap-and-chic clothing. Country star Taylor Swift is present in the Wal-Mart aisles this fall, showing off LEI Jeans.

JC PENNEY - Reality-TV star Kimora Lee Simmons is introducing Fabulosity, a line of urban sportswear for juniors. It will be part of Penney's "Breakfast Club" back-to-school campaign, which launches July 18. She joins designers Chris Madden and Nicole Miller.

BELK - Kristin Davis has announced a partnership with Belk, proving SJP isn't the only "Sex and the City" star with fashion sense. The "flirty and "feminine" line will retail for $38-$240 this fall.

MACY'S - Tommy Hilfiger will join the star-studded case of Macy's commercials this year, which in the past have featured Martha Stewart, Donald Trump, Jessica Simpson and Usher. Beginning this fall, the designer men's and women's sportswear collections will be carried exclusively at Macy's. The store will also carry DKNY's new 'Edie Rose' line, designed by starlet Rachel Bilson.

More celebrity lines and partnerships for Fall:

• Jessica Simpson will add dresses to her growing collection.
• Eve will re-launch Fetish at select retailers.
• Reality-star Heidi Montag will continue her partnership with west coast retailer Anchor Blue.
• Lindsay Lohan is selling her new leggings line exclusively at Intuition.
• Paris Hilton has designed a line for Dollhouse clothing.