"Can You Hear Me Now?" guy is done

[BBMINI]

Just saw this article, didn't see where it had been posted already on CB so thought y'all might be interested:
Verizon Phases Out 'Can You Hear Me Now?' Guy - Yahoo! TV Blog

Sounds like it was a pretty lucrative gig while it lasted (nine years, surprisingly).

Have a good Fri and Wkd.

[supermario28]

I thought he was already done. He was no where to be seen when VzW started the "Map for that" commercials, he was still no where to be seen when they had the "Rule the Air" stuff too. He was resurrected for the iPhone coming to Vzw but that was it. I'm sure he was done with it.

[BBMINI]

Yeh, the article says he was notified last September that he was being "phased out", but I hadn't seen him in quite a while either. So I guess they officially let him know of his demise even though it had effectively already begun to happen . . . they were maybe just formally confirming what everyone already knew. Or maybe they had been debating whether to keep using him but hadn't made any final decisions about the direction of their future ads until last fall. Who knows? Either way, I would have been plenty glad to have had a 9-year ride at $6000 per ad.

[Itzdatdude]

Originally Posted by supermario28

I thought he was already done. He was no where to be seen when VzW started the "Map for that" commercials, he was still no where to be seen when they had the "Rule the Air" stuff too. He was resurrected for the iPhone coming to Vzw but that was it. I'm sure he was done with it.

That's what I said. Cause whenever you saw a Verizon commercial you saw him and "the network".

Well they said he made a lot of loot doing those commercials. So he straight lol.

[ChuckH0308]

I always liked the "can you hear me now?" commercials and he was perfect for them. I can totally see how they could have impacted his life the way they did though. I imagine that is the case with most actors though...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[ColdSunshine]

Every time I watch the CSI episode called "Stalker" with Doug Huchison, I am reminded of the Verizon guy. I kept waiting on DH to blurt out "Can you hear me now!!!" when he was holding Nick Stokes hostage.

I can't find a screen shot of him from that episode, but DH is even wearing the Verizon Guy's gray jacket.

[the_sandman_454]

I was very surprised to see they stuck with that commercial/actor as long as they did. Hopefully they come up with something good as a replacement. The rule the air ones just didn't seem very impressive to me.

[BBMINI]

Originally Posted by the_sandman_454

The rule the air ones just didn't seem very impressive to me.

+1, for sure. Maybe it's just me, but telling me to "rule the air" doesn't do a lot for me in terms of using a cell phone. If they were selling fighter jets or thunderstorms then maybe I'd make the connection more directly and get more excited about the concept, but I really have no need to, intention of, or even ability to "rule the air" from my BB . . . I just want the signal coverage to be strong, fast and consistent, so the "can you hear me now?" campaign made a lot more sense to me. "Rule the Air" just seems like something a marketing guy thought would sound powerful even if it didn't really apply very well to the product being sold.

[thom1]

Maybe he will take over for Fred.
(it's time to make the donuts)