SINGAPORE - In our showbiz industry where the young and gorgeous often get bigger roles and more attention, evergreen actress Hong Huifang could be considered over the hill.

Yet the mother of two, who turns 52 in January, is one of the queens of endorsements at MediaCorp.

Old is indeed gold.

Andit's an eclectic selection too.

This year, Hong has put her face to beauty salon BodyPerfect, wig boutique Fortune Wigs and milk powder Anlene.

She also endorses Riversound Residence in Sengkang and Nirvana Memorial Garden columbarium.

She is up there with popular idol actress Jeanette Aw, 33,whohas under her belt Olay Regenerist facial cream, SK 999 Pure Gold Jewellery, Owl coffee products and New Moon abalone and rice.

Other idols aren't far behind either. Joanne Peh, 28, has Laurier sanitary pads, Singapore Exchange investment gameStockWhiz and Kovan Regency.

She will also be the face for an upcoming electronics endorsement.

Meanwhile, Elvin Ng, 31, endorses Shokubutsu men's toiletries, Systema oral care and Mercedes- Benz.

Hong, who started acting in 1983 at 22, told The New Paper in a recent interview that her deals came as a huge surprise.

She's very flattered, she added. "I had a lot of endorsements when I was in my 20s, like for beverages and bird's nest." But the deals ended in my 30s and 40s, probably because it was an awkward age. I was neither young nor old."  

She believes her clients like her healthy and positive image now, and also her strong family bonds.

Her age and the years she has spent in showbiz also make her a convincing ambassador to certain target markets.

"Viewers grew up with me from the 1980s and they are likely successful people with bigger spendingpower now,"Hong said.

It's the third year she has endorsed Fortune Wigs andBodyPerfect,and the second for Nirvana Memorial Garden.

Her endorsement deals for Riversound Residenceand Anlene were offered this year.

It is also a family affair.

Hong endorsed Anlene with her husband, local "hunkle" actorZheng Geping.

And the whole family, including daughter Tay Ying, 16, and son Calvert, 12, were in the condominium advertisements together.

Hong was coy when we asked how much she pocketed from her endorsements this year.

It's a secret, she laughed, but let on that it was a six-figuresum- enough for the down payment of her penthouse in Riversound Residence.  

She's always wanted to own a penthouse as she often has big family gatherings, she said.

The developer got her and Zheng to endorse the property after she bought the unit.

According to a property website, a 249 sqm penthouse with four bedrooms and four bathrooms at Riversound Residence is going for around $1.79 million.

A 20 per cent down payment would add up to about $358,000.

Saving up Hong, who is filming a MediaCorp drama, tentatively titled Happy Cuisine, in Kuala Lumpur, hopes her streak will continue as she's now padding up her retirement fund.

She doesn't want her children to worry about Zheng andherselfwhenthey are nolonger working.

Her hubby isn't envious of her many endorsements either, she told us.

"It benefits him too that I'm doing well. As husbandand wife,weare one entity."

A source in the marketing industry, who declined to be named, told TNP that companies here have several considerations when they want to engage a celebrity to endorse a product or service.

Factors include the nature of the product, the suitability of the celebrity to the product, the target marketand the company's budget.

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