There have been a spate of ads recently, particularly for cars, where a host shows or demonstrates the car or other product to a small group of folks and we watch their enthusiastic reactions to the latest Furblemobile or whatever it is.
There’s usually some on-screen words or voiceover saying “Real People Not Actors” or some such.
Those folks shown are much prettier than the average person. The group is the mixture of ethnic and gender profiles standard for modern ads. They’re all the right age for the product.
I’ve done a bit of spokesperson stuff on camera and given a few vid “interviews” that got cut into ads for my former firms’ products. So I’ve got a few hours practice under my belt. These car folks are far more poised and articulate than I was ever able to be. Looking and behaving naturally into a camera is very unnatural.
They’re certainly better actors than the folks who do your late-night local restaurant or discount store ads. Or the “As seen on TV” product placement actors who struggle vainly with ordinary vacuum cleaners and kitchen gizmos yet beam with delight and clean or cook with grace and confidence upon first touching the product being shilled.
So who are these carefully selected real people who aren’t actors but look and behave pretty much exactly like better-than-average advertising actors? How do the agencies recruit non-actor actors? I’m not interested in doing it, but how do people apply for that job?
They’re articulate because they cherry pick. If someone stumbles or mumbles, it gets edited out. And they only pick a handful of comments, so by sheer chance, some will say something that works perfectly in the ad.
Also, though people would be nervous at first, a skillful presenter can put them at their ease. They probably spent some time just chatting before they did any of those reveals.
I’m not sure how they recruit, but I’d expect there to be a vetting process – people who don’t look good on camera won’t be chosen.
I’m glad you brought that up. The only thing I think of when those commercials are on is: “Actors aren’t real people then. Man, the technology to make androids and/or CGI is better than I thought!”
I don’t know the rules about SAG/AFTRA: can they act professionally without being members? Or are they “unpaid spokespeople”? It seems too easy to avoid paying the regular fees if they can simply get amateurs to act in front of cameras.
Those Chevy ads are like nails on a chalkboard to me. And the people HAVE to be working from a script, even if they aren’t professional actors, because nobody would say the things they do. For example, if you’re told that you have to answer in emogees, the proper response is not, “Ooh, how clever!”, it’s “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
My favorite are the drug ads.
“Hi Madge, how are you doing with your moderate to severe Crohn’s Disease?”
“I’m doing fine and I informed my doctor of other medications I might have been taking.
He gave me Flagyl and I’m not even having any rare to common side effects of dizziness, headache, stomach upset, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, constipation, or metallic taste in my mouth.”
And the condition know as “sausage fingers”. Don’t forget the sausage fingers. I hate that side effect.
But yea, no one talks like that. I don’t have “moderate to severe” anything. It hurts like hell, worse than anyone else in the entire world, and I demand treatment!
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There’s a CW song (no idea of title, age of song or name of group) about this and one of the side effects is DEATH. If you experience DEATH, please notify your etc…
The author of the article spots several “real people” who have previously appeared in TV shows and movies. He also compares the English and Spanish versions of the commercials and spots common reaction shots between the two.
I love the car commercials showing a car driving normally on a street, following all safe practices, and they STILL add the “do not attempt” disclaimer. What, I can’t drive my car on the road? What good is it?
And kayaker, where’d you get that disclaimer? That’s brilliant nonsense! It’s full of words I know, but they aren’t saying anything. At all.
Well, if you’re gonna start making sense, we’re all screwed.
What gets me: You go into your doctor tomorrow (or 7 months from now when you can actually get an appointment) and demand he prescribe Jamitol for your symptoms and see if he takes advice from you. I’m surprised Big Pharm wastes money on ads like these for a relatively small group of consumers (i.e., doctors).
(I know, I’m risking Econ majors coming in here and explaining it.)
Doctors often have samples from the drug companies to give out.
It does make sense to give samples so the patient can try out a med for a new condition without paying for a full Rx.
