When Stargate Universe (SG:U) was on the air, I had the biggest crush on Patrick Gilmore. I think he's adorable. But today, I caught him in a commercial for dishwashing machine detergent. He's looking more adorbz than ever with that beard, and I was really happy to see him, but still, detergent commercial. And the other day I caught Eureka's Colin Ferguson as the Maytag Man. And there are numerous "Framily Plan" commercials with Judy Greer from The Village (and a bajillion other things. She had her rise during the era when every comedy show had a crazy red-head.) And to top it off, Kevin Spacey, technically an A-lister, is doing eTrade commercials.
I actually think this is a trend where companies are willing to shell out some more dough to get larger actors to put a familiar face to products. Apparently, its not reserved for professional athletes anymore. Which is good really; pro athletes are terrible actors... Colin Ferguson's MayTag commercials are quite amusing. I even caught myself thinking I might choose MayTag because of it. I love the one where he's the refrigerator! "Lazy toaster."
You know, when you put it that way, I have to wonder if it's not also a response to the DVR phenomenon that turned commercials into fast-forward-ables. You see a face you recognize, you might be less apt to immediately hit the FFW button? Maybe?
I think the Kevin Spacey eTrade commercial isn't necessarily Kevin Spacey but a play on his character from "House of Cards." Kristen Schaal from various television shows like "30 Rock" is in a few commercials right now too.
Kevin Bacon's EE adverts are great, so I agree with Annûniel - they're just upping the actors involved.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds for a couple of days work. As you guys over the pond say, it's a no-brainer for huge Hollywood stars to appear in an advert, endorse a product and collect their substantial cheque for doing so.
