celebrity gifting suites

Do you know what celebrity "gifting suites" are? Basically, companies set up booths at Los Angeles events or movie premieres and let "celebrities" take free stuff. I say "celebrities" in quotes because oftentimes these "celebrities" are random people that are frinds with famous people, but not necessarily famous (a la Kim Kardashian). So, anyway, photographers take pictures of these people holding up all their free swag and the companies are happy because they think you (the consumer who sees the pictures) will go buy the item because you saw a celebrity holding holding it up.

So my question is: do you guys know about this practice? I think companies think we don't realize the celebrities are getting all this stuff for free and are basically being bribed to promote it. But when I see a celebrity in a photo at one of these "gifting suites" I totally know what's going on.

So, tell me: Is this practice sillly? Stupid? Insulting to our intelligence? And, before I wrote this blog, did you have any idea it was going on?