How Miley Cyrus Got Wrapped Up in Condom Scam

Is Miley Cyrus hawking prophylactics? No, but a lot of people probably think she is, thanks to a transparently sleazy marketing stunt.

Last week, Lifestyles Condoms "announced," via its New York-based PR firm, 5W, that it was offering the 15-year-old Hannah Montana star $1 million to be its new spokesperson. The news quickly spread across the web, starting in the Daily News and getting picked up on E!, FoxNews.com, Defamer and dozens of other sites.

Of course, Cyrus, who got plenty of grief just for baring her back in a Vanity Fair photo shoot, is perhaps the last celebrity who would sign on for such a gig. But that doesn't matter, because, as far as can be ascertained, Lifestyles never actually offered her anything; it just announced its intention to do so, in the knowledge that merely mooting the possibility would generate headlines -- which, of course, it did.

This sort of cheap piggybacking on someone else's fame is pretty standard for 5W, which has earned a reputation as perhaps the public relations industry's least reputable outfit. (You can find a recap of some of its greatest hits here.)

But it's not without risk. The rapper 50 Cent recently sued Taco Bell for a very similar promotional effort, saying that the fast-food chain falsely implied his endorsement. And I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Cyrus and/or Disney is threatening similar action against Lifestyles and 5W. A rep for Cyrus hasn't responded to messages, and a 5W employee said only, "Unfortunately, we cannot comment further on this topic."

Earlier: No, Johnny Depp isn't hawking condoms, either.