# Are commercials beneath the dignity of a serious artist?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-commercials-beneath-the-dignity-of-a-serious-artist/339865>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [January 13, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-commercials-beneath-the-dignity-of-a-serious-artist/339865 "2006-01-13T20:08:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-commercials-beneath-the-dignity-of-a-serious-artist/339865/21 "2006-01-14T05:14:03Z")

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> [@priapus](#):
>
> A lot of “A” class actors hawk products…in Japan.

[Since you asked…](http://japander.com/)

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**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-commercials-beneath-the-dignity-of-a-serious-artist/339865/22 "2006-01-14T11:40:10Z")

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All joking aside, the main question to ask about any given project, be it play [on or off b’way] tv [show or commercial] or movie [live action or voice/cartoon] is:

Will it _pay_ the rent?

Come on, get real. There is no difference between Romeo and Juliette and the Young and the Restless. Shakespeare was writing for the popular masses. If a role pays the rent, then the only thing the actor is required to do is their best work. It is not the actor is cheesy, it is the directing and the script. Lithgow is equally good with his teeth looking rotted out, and wearing a strait jacket [Buckaroo Banzai] or in drag [Roberta Muldoon in the World according to garp, where he got a nomination for an oscar] to playing in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels on b’way [and getting a tony nomination for that as well] He does voice overs, narration, commercials and cartoons. He also pays his bills with his work. If you want to consider Bukaroo Banzai as cheesy, then it is the vehicle that is cheesy, not his performance. If you want to consider 3d Rock cheesy, then it is the show that is cheesy, not his performance. I saw a few episodes [had a roomie that liked it, i am not really into sitcoms] and I found it watchable. The actors played their parts proficiently - if there was any flaw it was with the scripts and direction.

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**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-commercials-beneath-the-dignity-of-a-serious-artist/339865/23 "2006-01-14T14:43:03Z")

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> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> No, no, Oskar Fischinger is perfectly relevant. An actor is one kind of artist, and a painter or drawer or animator is another kind of artist.

Glad you feel that way. Some people can get a little pissy when you don’t RTFOP.

Since then I’ve thought of [Raymond Scott](http://www.raymondscott.com), who wrote really good experimental and/or electronic music for Hertz, Autolite, and other product ads.

Good work _can_ sell product, and even live on afterwards.

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