Devoted to show business and the entertainment industry

When I read this article from the Houston Chronicle, it made me wonder when the height of ignorance will be reached.

While it is nothing new that celebrities are doing voice-overs on commercials, evidently the prices they are getting for it are astronomical, and this is without identifying who the celebrity is.

Here's the reasoning behind it:

'Dan McHugh, vice president for trademark brands for Anheuser-Busch says, "The idea, is that the consumer will "sort of know the voice. They may not necessarily place it right away, but when they do, they say, 'Wow'! It's that whole intrigue of discovery."

Laura Cheshire, a commercial director in New York, says many celebrities have distinct vocal patterns that set them apart — recognized or not.

"They have a special authority, even if you can't name them on the spot," says Cheshire, who directed a Panasonic ad with Christian Slater. "It's usually worth the expense, because you get more emotion — which sells more product."'

Maureen Kelly, a casting director, has a different look at it:

"Honestly, sometimes I'm mystified, 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."

From the standpoint of the celebrities this is a great move as it easily offers a six-figure income and more for those most marketable. But for companies, I have to agree with Maurine Kelly above in being "mystified" as to the expenditures related to voices that can't be recognized.

One thing is obvious from all of this, find out who it is that is brokering these deals and hire them, they could probably market anything.