There's an injustice sweeping our good nation. It's slinking in right beneath our noses.
And no one is talking about it. Maybe no one has noticed.
Well, I'm here to break the silence.
Good, hard-working Americans are losing their jobs. But not to who you may think.
To celebrities.
How, you ask?
Poor, defenseless voiceover talents everywhere are being gradually replaced with people like Tim Allen and Jim From The Office (as he will forever be known. Sorry, Jim.).
Don't believe me?
Watch this esurance commercial [Jim] or this Chevy commercial [Tim].
It's happening, people. And we can't sit idly by while Buzz Lightyear swoops in and dazes the masses with his little-lightbulb-that-blinks and his falling-with-style. Hasn't Tim got enough going for him already without taking away the 30 seconds of glory that could instead be bestowed upon a deep-voiced, middle-class fellow with stars in his eyes and a dream in his heart?
First Disney movies, now this. Does anyone know who played Belle or Snow White? No. Why? Because animated films used to give young starlets a chance to prove themselves to the world, but now they just see how many famous names they can throw at you in a trailer until you see one you like enough to go see the movie.
The commercials don't even mention whose voice we're hearing. But we know. Oh, we know.
Nearly any American aged 18-35 can recognize Jim From The Office's voice within 2.5 seconds. Kind, non-threatening, trustworthy---Jim. We trust Jim. Therefore we trust his advice on insurance. I mean, let's face it, advertisers are probably on to something, here.
But it's the principle of the thing.
Sure, it might make your ad more memorable, but where, good sir, is your integrity? Where is your honor?
Do you want to be the one who has to tell the talented Joe Dynamo, who's been in the voiceover business since his radio show in 1979, that you chose Jim From The Office over him? Do you want to see Joe Dynamo cry? Because I sure don't. And that's what you're doing, Advertising Industry. You're making Joe Dynamo cry. Why would you do that?
So I ask you, reader, to join my cause on behalf of overlooked-yet-perfectly-talented voiceover professionals everywhere and stick it to The Man.
Because Joe Dynamo needs a job, too. After all, we are in a recession. And this is just the American thing to do.
So be a good American. Support the underdogs in the voiceover industry.
Have you noticed this trend? Any other celebrity voiceovers I missed?