Whether you’re a talent scout for a commercial production company or just a curious TV viewer, you may have wondered about the actors who play some of TV’s most well-known characters. And we’re not talking about people from TV sitcoms. We’re talking about the people who try to sell you car insurance and cell phone plans. So, how do you find out who is in the biggest commercials on TV? We have some ideas for you.
Best Ways to Find Out Who Acts in TV Commercials
In short, yes. Like most things these days, you can find out the names of actors in TV commercials by doing a quick search online. There are a number of websites and other online resources that are especially good for this kind of search.
Here are some of the best ideas we have:
iSpot.TV is a company that measures TV ads, but it is still a useful tool because you can search and look through their database of ads. Once you’ve found the ad you’re looking for, you can click on it to see what kinds of credits are listed. Keep in mind that not all ads list the names of the actors. However, you can find the title of the ad and the name of the advertising agency that made it, which will help you in your search.
AdsoftheWorld.com: Ads of the World is a website with one big advantage: you can search for specific ads by country, industry, and medium used, such as film, audio, digital, and print. Just do a search, and the site’s database will help you find the actor in any TV commercial.
The Internet Movie Database, or IMDb, is more than just a way to look up an actor you think you know from your latest Netflix binge. IMDb not only lists actors’ roles in movies and TV shows, but also in commercials, short films, and other things. Even though commercials aren’t the main focus here, this can still be useful in a pinch.
Social Media: It should come as no surprise that social media is also a great tool. You can also search relevant keywords for ads or brands to see if anyone else on Twitter or Facebook is talking about the ad and the actor who is in it. Also, a lot of actors use social media to promote their work, so you might come across their profile if they’re known for playing a commercial character.
Some of the most searched-for actors in TV commercials
Some brands use animated geckos or cheese-loving cheetahs, while others rely on the charisma of actors. There are definitely actors who are instantly recognisable because they have been in a long-running TV ad campaign.
Here are some of the TV actors who are most often looked up:
Paul Marcarelli is an actor who wore glasses for 13 years as part of Verizon Wireless’s “Can You Hear Me Now?” TV ad campaign. Marcarelli shocked the business world in 2016 when he switched to competitor Sprint and became the longtime face of their ads.
Stephanie Courtney: In ads for Progressive Insurance, this actor plays the famous Flo. Courtney played the character for the first time in early 2008. Since then, the insurance giant’s sales have gone from $13 billion in 2008 to a huge $36 billion in 2019.
From 2007 to 2015, this actor, Jonathan Goldsmith, was the face of Dos Equis’s “The Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign. In 2016, a French actor took his place, and in 2018, Dos Equis stopped that campaign all together. Interesting…
