Jon Hamm’s American Airlines Commercial– Weird or Not?
BY LORI CULWELL
I don't know if you watch "Mad Men," but if you don't, can I recommend that you start? It is that good. If you do and you also watch commercials, maybe you've noticed this American Airlines commercial that's been running for a couple of months:
So, a couple of things with this. First off, yes, I continue to be bitter at big companies for using celebrities for their voiceover. I feel like this trend is on the wane, and companies are about to give this up because it's totally not worth the money to create this brand equity/ association with celebrities.
This brings me to my next point about this commercial. I'm not saying Jon Hamm isn't doing a good job with the voiceover, because he sounds fine. It's just that, and I think if you watch "Mad Men" you'll agree with me on this, I can't help but think of Don Draper, giving his slick "Don Draper ad copy" pitch during a creative meeting on that show. Actually, I feel like Don Draper might have pitched American Airlines at some point on "Mad Mad," so that is even weirder.
I wonder if American Airlines is making this association and is actually using it, or if they just liked Jon Hamm's work on Mercedes-Benz, which is also weird because "Mad Men" is kind of all about the auto industry this season.
Is anyone else finding this whole thing to be kind of meta? I don't really know if it's helping American Airlines sell more tickets. I am happy for Jon Hamm because I know he paid a ton of dues before landing his big "Mad Men" gig, so in that way, I guess it's nice that he's cashing in by doing celebrity voiceover when the opportunities are presented to him. I was even ok with the Mercedes-Benz commercials. I just think this American Airlines thing crosses the fiction/ reality line, and every time I hear it, I think it's weird.Am I alone in this? Are you hearing/ thinking this too?
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Huh. I hadn’t recognized his voice at all. It’s a lot more “breathy” than how he speaks on Mad Men. I totally agree about the cognitive dissonance between the actor and the message, but for me it occurs on a broader scale. Whenever I *first* recognize a celebrity’s face or voice, it throws me out of the current experience for a moment. I’m okay if I go into an experience already knowing who the actors are; it’s the moment of recognition that throws me.