Is Kendra from The Girls Next Door the new face of The Olive Garden? Not if the OG brass has anything to say about it. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal [via Videogum], Ms. Wilkinson is a devoted and vocal fan of the free bread sticks haven and doesn't miss a chance to talk it up, enumerating the virtues of her most favorite menu items (artichoke dip, salad and chicken parmigiana) to anyone who will listen. You'd think the chain would be thrilled at the free publicity, but apparently being that they're a 'family company' or some dumb crap, they're not so stoked on being endorsed by a woman who gets nekkid for a living.

I dunno about you, but I hate it when celebs' personal affection for a particular product turns into a contractual endorsement. Like when Jessica Simpson started shilling for Chicken of the Sea after her little "chicken or fish" snafu. But then again, at least it makes sense, as opposed to those random celeb endorsements that seem to come from no where (John Corbett for Applebees? Sam Waterston for TD Waterhouse? Fran Drescher for Old Navy?). Can't we have a happy medium? Say, endorsements that make sense but aren't so cutesy and pleased with themselves? Like say Paris Hilton for Valtrex? Or Star Jones for the Lap Band? Or Naomi Campbell for Motorola? Or Shia LaBeouf for the Pocket Breathalizer? You see where I'm going with this.

All I'm saying is that Olive Garden should be glad someone is enjoying their endless soup and salad bar. You couldn't pay me to eat at that hole-in-the-wall. Well, you could. But again, it'd have to be a lot. And include some type of malt liquor beverage.