While everyone from Mario Lopez (above) to Levi Johnston has shown us some of their bits and bitties for personal promotion (or a buck or two), there are some male celebrities (and subcelebrities) who’ve stripped down strictly for publicity purposes. Whether it’s for a cause or publicity for a produce—think album, movie, book or cause — we’re not complaining. Women seem to be objectified on the daily. Just look at the latest with Lady Gaga and V magazine. So we got to thinking: More men need to give up the goods for some equal opportunity titillation. Who’s with us? Yeah, we knew there’d be very little resistance. Here’s a mere sampling of what we uncovered. You’re welcome.
Adam Levine
The Maroon 5 crooner took it all off (but that pesky hand!) to encourage men to get checked for prostate and testicular cancer in an ad that first appeared in Cosmopolitan UK.
Jamie Bamber
Think what you might of PETA’s tactics for garnering attention, but when it comes to getting celebs to strip down for a cause…well, they rule in our book.
Willis Andrew McGahee
McGahee (now a free agent) was a running back for the Baltimore Ravens when he submitted to PETA’s “Ink Not Mink” campaign.
Dennis Rodman
Our ambassador to North Korea bared all for PETA, but nobody was really shocked by this, right?
Chad Ochocinco
Johnson was just known by his name/number Ochocinco (which he had legally changed, and then reverted back to given name of Johnson) when he posed for PETA while still a member of the Miami Dolphins.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Like PETA, Rolling Stone has a penchant for having its celeb cover stars sans clothes. Of course, the Red Hot CHili Peppers were always the “socks on cocks” boys whether on stage or with their The Abbey Road E.P., so the mag just gave their fans what they had come to expect.
Alexander Skarsgard and Stephen Moyer
Yes, we’d already seen the True Blood stars naked bods on a seemingly consistent loop on the HBO trampire serial (not that we’re complaining) and while the boys may have Sookie separating them, the shot is still bloody sexy.
John Lennon
Way back in 1981, Rolling Stone showed some skin for mainstream consumption. And while Yoko Ono shared the cover with Lennon, the iconic image just has John in the buff.
Brett Michaels
Not to be out-abbed by Stone, Billboard shared some skin of reality TV personality and former Poison frontman Bret Michaels with the apropos cover line “100 Ways To Get Your Music Seen & Heard.” Answer: be naked.
Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder
There must be something about bloodsuckers because after Sookie and her men did it, the stars of Vampire Diaries stripped down to wear blue steel and little else for this Entertainment Weekly cover.
David Beckham
Whether he’s shilling cologne or skivvies for H&M or Emporio Armani, we have no complaints that the Becks is near-naked on monstrous billboards in many major metropolises around the world.
Marky Mark
Before he was a “serious” thespian, the funky bunch headliner offered up his best assets for Calvin Klein’s groundbreaking underwear campaign. CK sure knew how to exploit the hod bod on a perceived bad boy, and sales skyrocketed.
Prince
The man formerly known as so many things was always one to push the limits of sexuality and androgyny, but it’s his cover art for LoveSexy that sticks with us amidst his numerous sexploits.
Keith Urban
When he was just a newcomer stateside (and before he was Mr. Nicole Kidman), a strategically placed guitar was all that separated Keith Urban from full-frontal exposure in a 2001 edition of Playgirl where he was touting his country music tour in the U.S.
Sasha Baron Cohen
The star of Bruno may have been poking fun at all the ladies that grace mag covers with little to nothing on their person, but Cohen was really promoting his own resumé for GQ’s Comedy Issue.