What do they want? What plays in Disneyland. - Pamela Campus, Commercial Casting Director
THE COMMERCIAL TYPE
"We're not in the entertainment industry. We're in the business of selling widgets. And, if you sell a lot of widgets other people will hire you to sell a lot of their widgets," says voice-over casting director Bob Lloyd.
Want to know how much work you can expect to get in commercials? Or how to look? Or how you should act? Sit down in front of a TV set. Mostly, you'll see "white bread" - an industry expression describing actors (of whatever race) with rather bland, wholesome, all-American looks. You'll see "P&G housewives with perk" - another industry expression meaning idealized Midwestern mother types oozing perkiness and cheer. (P&G stands for Proctor and Gamble - purportedly the inventors of what is now a standard look.) You'll see warm, loving dads with short hair and conservative clothing, adorably cute children, teens who never saw a pimple (unless they're selling zits removers), grandmothers still dressed like they did back in 1926. Clean streets. Musical comedy. Happy endings. Energy. Brightness. Warmth...
"Most calls, they want Midwestern," says agent Karen DiCenzo. In short, you gotta think Iowa.
You'll have to look harder for character faces, and many nights may go by between "ethnic" faces or actors with accents... unless you're tuned to an "ethnic" station, where "ethnics" will predominate. Only a limited number of high-fashion products will use women in low-cut, sexy dresses, heavy rouge, or orange eyeshadow. Men will almost never sport mustaches or beards.
In short, you'll see the look the makers of commercials want. The closer you come to that, the more you'll work.
Which brings us to...
ARE COMMERCIALS WORTH IT?
Are they worth shaving off that beard you love so much, or changing your hairstyle and makeup from "Zoweena of Hollywood' to "Mary Smith from Peoria"just to please some faceless corporate executive who's decided (based on millions of dollars of research) that his customers relate to "Middle America'? Should you hassle finding an agent or go to the expense of putting together a composite to work in an area that makes the product the star? (The script designation for a product is the word "hero"!) Is attending commercial workshops, learning to convince America it can't live without Uncle Georgie's Better Mousetraps worth the time of a serious actor? Three points...
Money
Don't want to do them? Okay. Cut your wallet in two. According to SAG, nearly half the income of actors comes directly from commercials. A commercial is almost always shot in one day and can pay thousands of dollars in residuals. Not too shabby for eight hours' work. Beats slinging hash in a diner.
Career
We could fill these pages with the names of stars discovered doing commercials, as commercial casting director Pamela Campus testifies: "A few years ago I walked through Columbia Pictures Studios, and I saw up on their wall all these pictures of [TV stars] people I had hired five years ago. And I said to myself, 'Wait a minute, I'm training these people for sitcoms, mini-series and television.' Let me tell you something. The top people you see in commercials today, especially if they're comedic, will be the top people you later see in a series. If you stand out in a commercial, usually you'll be picked up in a series. I've seen it."
Entree
If you're a middle-aged housewife from Peoria who's thinking of fast bucks or doing commercials on a lark, we'd advise skipping it. Getting an agent will be rough, and even if you luck into a commercial or two, the sparse work won't be worth it. Regular work in commercials requires you to be experienced and highly trained. Sorry.
However, if you're a newcomer with some theatre and/or commercial training, commercials (along with industrials and low-budget films) can be the way to that first break. Casting for commercials is far more cut-and-dried than theatricals. When you're called in for an audition, they know exactly what look they want - fit that and you've got a good shot. As one agent put it, "Commercial agents sometimes sign non-SAG people because they know that if the advertising agency loves your face and loves the way you sell their product, they have enough clout - money - to get you into SAG via Taft-Hartley."
Further, as theatrical agent Mary Spencer points out, "Many times, if you're new, you can get into an agency 'across the board.' If you have a great commercial look, and are saleable, they'll take you on in all fields."
Just remember: newcomers yes, untrained, no.
Are they worth it? If you're not convinced, better stay out. If you're contemptuous of commercials it'll show, you'll annoy people, and wind up not working anyway.
If you want to do them:
- Get commercial training.
- Make yourself as "white bread" as possible.
- Find the one person you simply can't do without: a commercial agent.
