Victoria's Secret Angels

Stars

In what proved to be a 1990s moment of marketing genius, Victoria's Secret, already a shopping mall and mail order staple for women's lingerie needs, began using top supermodels to advertise its bras and panties.

The combination proved to be as popular as the venerable Sports Illustrated swimsuit models. Over the years, internationally known names such as Giselle Bundchen, Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum and Adriana Lima have walked the catwalk in feathery angel wings and little else.

The brand — a subsidiary of Limited Brands that did $8.6 billion in business in 2009 — has expanded its angels franchise into its own website, phone apps, calendars and television shows.

Still, the decision to induct the "angels" onto the Walk of Fame in 2007, made many scratch their heads and the star is often cited, along with the star for Absolut vodka, as among the clearest signs of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce straying from the original intent of honoring Hollywood history.

— Megan Garvey for the Los Angeles Times June 27, 2010