"Bright. Crisp. Clean. Pure," says the silky smooth, perfectly masculine voice on the beer commercial. "This is Budweiser. THIS is beer." Quick, who is that? Hint: It's a big movie star. Though his name's never mentioned, the makers of Budweiser are banking on the fact that you'll get it eventually - and that you'll say "Wow!" when you do.

Twenty years ago, voiceovers were the domain of the baritone radio announcer or the character actor. No longer. These days, more A-list stars than you might imagine are cashing in.

Kevin Spacey's pitching Honda. Kelsey Grammer does Disney. Kiefer Sutherland voices Apple commercials, and his dad, Donald, did Volvo. There's Queen Latifah (Pizza Hut), Sean Connery (Level 3 Communications), Christian Slater (Panasonic), Gene Hackman (Oppenheimer Funds) - oh, and then there's Julia Roberts.

"Honestly, sometimes I'm mystified," says Maureen Kelly, a casting director who's worked in the voiceover field for two decades. "I guarantee you most people couldn't tell the AOL voice was Julia Roberts. I'm just not sure why advertisers spend this astronomical amount of money when the voice isn't even identifiable."

By astronomical, we're talking seven figures, easy. Although companies won't say how much they pay, industry experts say a megastar like Roberts would have to make well into that range.

Source: New York Daily News

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Posted by Lawren at March 24, 2006 07:31 AM | Trackbacks (0)

You Said

I've recognized all of those voices but it doesn't mean I would buy the product.

Budweiser tastes like crap. AOL sucks. I'm not in the income bracket for Volvo nor even Honda. I don't listen to music and grew up on the PC, I'm not a business owner so I couldn't use Level 3, and I have no money to invest in the market.

Says: at March 24, 2006 12:39 PM

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I am one of those weird people that can recognize those voices.

I can tell that the guy from CSI: NY does the caddilac commercials, too.

Says: Mel at March 25, 2006 12:36 PM

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Keifer Sutherland does the Verizon commercials and he is terrible. His voice inflection makes the commercial totally confusing.

Says: EB at March 25, 2006 09:15 PM

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