Betty White most liked & trusted celeb (IPSOS)

By Nancy Tartaglione

A recent Ipsos poll of over 2,000 American adults finds that Betty White is the nation's favorite and most trusted personality, and the one whose endorsement of a company would be most likely to drive business.

Following White on the popularity scale are Denzel Washington and Sandra Bullock. Also in the top 10 are: Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Kate Middleton, Morgan Freeman, Will Smith and Johnny Depp.

Meanwhile, Paris Hilton and Charlie Sheen are the two out of 100 celebrities who were viewed unfavorably by a majority of respondents, Ipsos said.

Hanks, Bullock, Freeman and Middleton are also among the most trusted celebs along with Oprah Winfrey and Taylor Swift.

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Tom Hanks top the list of personalities whose endorsement would be most effective in making Americans place more trust in a company, the poll found.

But no one drives purchase interest in a brand like Betty White.

Ipsos notes that its findings are consistent with those of an Ipsos-ASI poll, which ranked an ad featuring White as the most entertaining, most unique, best liked and most talked about Super Bowl ad of 2010.

Sheen is the only celebrity about whom a majority of those asked said they would be less likely to do business with a company if it were endorsed by him.

The full report is here.