# "Real people. Not actors." **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918 "2015-10-17T18:21:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/1 "2015-10-17T18:21:27Z")
I’ve seen a lot of commercials lately that supposedly use “Real people. Not actors.” Does this phrase actually mean anything? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/2 "2015-10-17T18:23:48Z")
Presumably, it implies that the people praising the product the commercial is trying to sell are doing so based on their own experiences, rather than because they have been paid to read some words of ad copy written by someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/3 "2015-10-17T18:28:42Z")
They don’t want to use animatronic actors because, given today’s best technology, they would likely be mildly creepy and fall into the “uncanny valley”, thus scaring customers away. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/4 "2015-10-17T18:59:33Z")
One day that statement will be meant literally. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/5 "2015-10-17T19:37:11Z")
I suppose the real people could be scripted and do retakes etc… But if they aren’t members of the Screen Actors Guild, maybe it is a legal loophole? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/6 "2015-10-17T20:03:13Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > I suppose the real people could be scripted and do retakes etc… > But if they aren’t members of the Screen Actors Guild, maybe it is a legal loophole? It’s kind of an exception. A person can be used one time in a commercial and they don’t have to join SAG to do it. I think it’s because they aren’t specifically considered professional actors by SAG because it’s a one time thing. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/7 "2015-10-17T20:35:15Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > I suppose the real people could be scripted and do retakes etc… > But if they aren’t members of the Screen Actors Guild, maybe it is a legal loophole? That they are real people does not mean that there is no script, set, or multiple takes. And you don’t have to join SAG until your second gig. And usually you don’t, because it is expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/8 "2015-10-17T20:47:58Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > That they are real people does not mean that there is no script, set, or multiple takes. > > And you don’t have to join SAG until your second gig. And usually you don’t, because it is expensive. In that case, IMHO, the phrase is essentially meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/9 "2015-10-17T20:53:57Z")
Any advertising phrase is meaningless until some authority rules that it has a legally enforceable meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/10 "2015-10-17T20:56:12Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > In that case, IMHO, the phrase is essentially meaningless. No, it’s not. It means exactly what it says. There are thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of actors in America without a SAG card. The vast majority of people doing local theater are not in SAG, e.g. SAG is completely irrelevant here. Obviously, the real people will be culled and coached and properly made-up, so no one is pretending that negative views of the product will be aired. But the responsibility of the company (through the ad agency that makes the commercial) is to find people who have nice things to say about their own use of the product that will stand up to FTC (or other governmental body) scrutiny. That’s hugely different from using actors. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/11 "2015-10-17T21:05:44Z")
The implication is — correctly in a narrow sense — actors and actresses are venal people paid to lie for money and career. Unlike plain, ordinary salt-of-the-earth regular folks who can be counted on to do the right thing. Like copywriters, marketing account executives, craftsmen, sellers, businessmen, policemen, lobbyists and local councillors. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/12 "2015-10-17T22:30:02Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > In that case, IMHO, the phrase is essentially meaningless. Got it in one. Do you think the advertisers are paying all that money for real people to give their uncensored opinions? It is possible they take what these people actually said as input and maybe tighten it up a bit. But the goal of the ad is the same as the goal of an ad with actors. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/13 "2015-10-17T22:33:28Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Obviously, the real people will be \*\*culled \*\*and coached and properly made-up, You mean that if they don’t get it right, they are shot? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/14 "2015-10-17T22:34:18Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > No, it’s not. It means exactly what it says. There are thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of actors in America without a SAG card. The vast majority of people doing local theater are not in SAG, e.g. SAG is completely irrelevant here. For a union shoot, it doesn’t matter if you have done a dozen non-equity shows. By your second film shoot (and commercials are usually film shoots) you need to join SAG. A non-union shoot is a different matter. > [@](#): > > Obviously, the real people will be culled and coached and properly made-up, so no one is pretending that negative views of the product will be aired. But the responsibility of the company (through the ad agency that makes the commercial) is to find people who have nice things to say about their own use of the product that will stand up to FTC (or other governmental body) scrutiny. That’s hugely different from using actors. If the ad says “not an actor” or " a real customer" then that might be enforced. It never says that these are the customer’s own words. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/15 "2015-10-17T22:35:34Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > You mean that if they don’t get it right, they are shot? Nah. Casting director offices aren’t big enough to store the bodies. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/16 "2015-10-17T22:38:12Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > The implication is — correctly in a narrow sense — actors and actresses are venal people paid to lie for money and career. Lying for money is the very definition of actor, isn’t it? My daughter’s manager used “I love Cheerios” to cull kids when he held open auditions. My daughter didn’t love Cheerios. But she knew, even at 10 years old, to lie about loving Cheerios - and so she got signed. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/17 "2015-10-18T02:41:05Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > No, it’s not. It means exactly what it says. There are thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of actors in America without a SAG card. The vast majority of people doing local theater are not in SAG, e.g. SAG is completely irrelevant here. And almost all of those people don’t make their living from acting. They have other jobs (waiter & bartender are common ones) that provide the majority of their income. So the advertising company can defensibly argue they are “not actors”. So it’s meaningless. It’s a lie, like all advertising. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/18 "2015-10-18T08:45:17Z")
What kind of a father are you, **Voyager**? Cheerios are delicious. ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/19 "2015-10-18T13:12:48Z")
From all this, I gather that actors are not real people! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918/20 "2015-10-18T15:24:18Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > And almost all of those people don’t make their living from acting. They have other jobs (waiter & bartender are common ones) that provide the majority of their income. So the advertising company can defensibly argue they are “not actors”. > > So it’s meaningless. It’s a lie, like all advertising. No matter what you think of advertising, the law says there are claims and there are claims. Real people is a legal claim and subject to a higher standard. As I said above, real people have to have had real experiences with the product. Actors can never have seen it before. That’s not interchangeable. It has nothing to do with how someone makes a living. [FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB4QFjAAahUKEwiL-5KPqczIAhVQ1WMKHRXHBls&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ftc.gov%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fattachments%2Fpress-releases%2Fftc-publishes-final-guides-governing-endorsements-testimonials%2F091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf&usg=AFQjCNG6Nx6RCgTVqbz2MIoXO0tkpLZifw&sig2=5b9M6uQzUNjWnKwn58YrUQ) > [@](#): > > § 255.2 Consumer endorsements. > > (b) An advertisement containing an endorsement relating the experience of one or more consumers on a central or key attribute of the product or service also will likely be interpreted as representing that the endorser’s experience is representative of what consumers will generally achieve with the advertised product or service in actual, albeit variable, conditions of use. Therefore, an advertiser should possess and rely upon adequate substantiation for this representation. If the advertiser does not have substantiation that the endorser’s experience is representative of what consumers will generally achieve, the advertisement should clearly and conspicuously disclose the generally expected performance in the depicted circumstances, and the advertiser must possess and rely on adequate substantiation for that representation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-people-not-actors/734918.md?page=2)