Do you remember Flo from Progressive? How about the T-Mobile girl? Or the AT&T saleswoman? It can be easy to forget that those people are real actors who take home a real paycheck. How much are these famous commercial faces really worth behind the scenes?
The AT&T Spokeswoman
The woman from the AT&T commercials is actually named Milana Vayntrubm. Before she was famous for being the AT&T lady, she was a model and actor starting at age 5. Moving from Uzbekistan to Hollywood when she was just a baby, the young star had to help supplement her family's income with her small acting gigs. Eventually, the family found their financial footing, and she was able to act full-time.
Keep Going
Milana was first seen in Barbie commercials when she was just a kid, but her later web series Let's Talk About Something More Interesting appearances landed her the coveted phone commercial gig. After that money came through, Milana finally earned enough in savings. AT&T paid her handsomely for her work, about $500,000 for the commercials. She then went on to act in the Yahoo! series Other Space.
The Maytag Man
Colin Ferguson is his true identity, and installing washer and dryer units is his sale of choice. Before he was a washing machine though, he played a cop on the show Eureka. He portrayed more of a strong, silent, authoritarian type character until he hit the big time and landed parts in The Vampire Diaries and Christmas in Paradise. There, he dug his heels into more dramatic roles to avoid being typecast in the future.
Things Change
In 2014, Ferguson landed the commercial gig of a lifetime for Maytag, and he hasn't looked back since. With a $1 million contract to be their mascot, it makes sense why he's stuck to this role and this role only. He's been on a break from the role for a few years, but his next steps could have him back in the strongman washing units again.
Mr. Dumass
This character's name is famous pronounced Doo-mas, but the real guy behind the role is actually named Stu Williams. In the 1990s, this was one of the most popular Superbowl commercials of the era, and it was for a pretty good reason. A&W Rootbeer spent a lot of their ad budget on securing this coveted ad spot.
Kicking And Screaming
Williams has said that he has good memories of playing this fan-favorite role. He earned about $50,000 for his portrayal, which was quite a large sum of wealth back in the 90s. Recently the actor started getting involved in the online Youtube community and began his channel. With permission from A&W, Mr. Dumass was able to upload his world-famous commercial and monetize it.
60s Dr. Pepper Girl
Before Donna Loren became an incredibly famous vocalist, she paid off her bills by working as a model. She was paid only $500 from Pepsi for her advertisement, but she was also given the opportunity to sing to everyone who saw it. It was an offer she couldn't pass up, and thankfully it paid off!
Corporate Runaround
Despite the fact that she accepted the measly $500 from Pepsi and did their commercialized contract, Loren never forgot about the way they treated her behind the scenes. Loren used this experience with Pepsi throughout the rest of her career as a milestone to understand when she was getting a bad deal. If a role didn't seem like it was paying her enough, she opted to drop it completely, which has led to her long term success.
The T-Mobile Girl
The T-Mobile girl is actually named Carly Foulkes, but the way she got this gig is unbelievable. It all started with answering a random advertisement she got in her inbox back in 2009. The role turned out to be legitimate, and since then, she has become a staple in commercials advertising for the brand. The best part is that even though her commercials have mostly stopped, she's still cashing in on those paychecks.
Making Big Cash
This deal earned Foulks an impressive amount of one million dollars. That's enough cash to fully fund her rebrand into the edgy motorcycle advertisement! Unfortunately for her though, she won't be able to get the traditional T-Mobile pink, because that color has now been trademarked.
The Pillsbury Doughboy
Although you may know this character as a boy made out of lumps of dough, the real artist behind this little bakery man was vocal actor Paul Frees. During the 1960s, Frees voiced the iconic Pillsbury Doughboy mascot, but he did a ton more voice acting work prior to this gig.
Little Dough Dude
Frees had a lot of voice acting experience. He voiced both Rudolph and Frosty in the movie Rudolph & Frosty, he voiced Santa in Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and he even voiced Jack Frost in the aptly named film Jack Frost. But, his most profitable achievement remains as being the Pillsbury Dough Boy. He earned one million dollars, appearing in plenty of ads as the little white creature throughout the 1960s.
The Slingers
Recognize either of these two? A little known Hollywood fact is that the lady who starred opposite of Nick Offerman in the Sling TV commercial spot is actually his beloved wife, Megan Mullally. He and Megan portrayed an easy-going, laid-back couple and their interest in introducing fellow "slingers" to their lifestyles.
Lost Cost
The married duo only received somewhere around $50,000 for their appearances in this ad series. This number doesn't include their image and likeness being used on the internet, radio, or print ads for Sling TV. Not even social media! Nick Offerman, famous for his Parks and Rec show, agreed to take a pay cut so he could work with his wife. He also wanted to help the Sling TV business, which had been failing before their rebranding.
The Snapple Lady
Wendy Kaufman played the role of the kind-hearted and lovable Snapple Lady. She did a few of the brand's commercials, but she also runs their PR branch that answers all of the fan mail she gets within the company. Even though she earned a high $100,000 for doing the ad reads, Snapple should have doled out a little more cash.
Wendy Cash
Because of Wendy's lovable lady commercials, Snapple grew dramatically in profits, going from a $23 million business to a $750 million business in just a single decade. When Snapple got bought by Quaker Oats, Wendy briefly lost her job, but the organization brought her back on after some time apart.
The Red Robin Lady
Melanie Paxson fumbled around the audition world for a few years before she landed her iconic role within the Red Robin ads. She did a ton of commercial spots for Gladware previously as a commercial actress, but she participated in a ton of famous TV shows, though they were small parts. Some of these shows include The Drew Carey Show Joey, Kitchen Confidential, CSI, Rules of Engagement, The Exes, and Medium.
Moving On
Nowadays, Paxson plays Sara Brennan on the show Happy Family, and she is totally in love with her new position. Her Red Robin commercials have led her career in a direction she never could have expected, but she doesn't regret a second of it. Plus, the $50,249 paycheck made the commercial cheesiness easier to bear.
The Pine-Sol Lady
The lovable, sassy, and beautiful woman who became the permanent face for Pine-Sol has a name, you know, and that name is Diane Amos. No matter how many other individuals they try to stick to the brand, she will always be the most memorable. Amos is considered a veteran actress around the industry. She had a slew of background roles in some older films, but she acts as a TV actress usually.
Longtime Legacy
Because of her longtime success within the acting field, Amos was able to earn herself about $250,000 from Pine-Sol. They could have gone with a lesser-known or younger actress without so much industry experience. However, once they saw Amos on screen, they knew she'd be the best fit for the job.
The GoDaddy Nerd
If you were watching the Superbowl back in 2013, you likely remember when this average joe locked lips with Bar Rafaeli on live TV. This guy isn't just lucky, he's a lucky actor! In fact, being the dorky nerd who gets to kiss beautiful girls is kind of his specialty. Not shockingly, this on-screen kiss ended up being one of the most discussed and reviewed Superbowl commercials of all time.
Jesse the Ladies Man
The man behind the smooch is named Jesse Heiman. Before he got picked up for the GoDaddy commercial, he didn't have much of a track record in the industry. Thankfully, after this opportunity, the brand paid him about $900,000 which helped him set up a career in Hollywood. You go, Jesse!
The Wendy's Girl
Sure, the company might have just hired this actress because she has naturally red hair. Her name is Morgan Smith-Goodwin and she played the Wendy's girl (aka. Red) and was the star of every Wendy's commercial from 2012 to 2016. Born and raised as an Alabama native, she moved to NYC to try and become an actor after she graduated from college. This choice clearly paid off for her!
Morgan Smith-Goodwin
Smith-Goodwin showed up in many free readings, benefits, and concerts before landing her first Off-Broadway role. This part was for Freckleface Strawberry, and she is still an original cast member. Smith-Goodwin also had the leading role in Circumstance and Sweet Charity. Her hair is actually not naturally red, but she dyes it that way and has for years. Morgan has made over $3 million from her commercial spots with Wendy's, so I guess that choice worked out.
The Old Spice Guy
"The Man Your Man Could Smell Like," known to his friends as Isaiah Mustafa, was the face of Old Spice for a very long period of time. Originally, Mustafa was a football player who could be found on the field back in the 1990s. But, like another beloved Old Spice advertiser, he decided to leave football to start an acting career.
Soap Star
Mustafa was first appearing in small soap opera parts before he then moved onto ad spots and commercials. Because of his involvement with Old Spice, Mustafa got some more impressive acting gigs later in his career. If you watch closely enough, you'll be able to catch his cameos in Horrible Bosses, It Chapter Two, and the trailer of Luke Cage. By the way, this famous part netted him $5 million.
The Sonic Guy (Left)
T.J. Jagodowski graduated from the prestigious Syracuse University and went on to become an accomplished Chicago actor. He is first and foremost an improv comedian, but he wanted a paid gig. The fast-food company Sonic picked up on his comedy skills when they saw his entry tape and his application. T.J. got to bring his improv buddy along (Pete Grosz) and thus, the legendary Sonic duo was born.
The Improv Guys
Jagodowski won the "Best Improviser" award from Chicago Improv Festival right after the Sonic commercials went viral. He's also gotten roles in flicks like Get Hard, The Ice Harvest, Stranger than Fiction, and more. He even had a small role in the TV drama Prison Break, which aired in the same timeslot that his commercial came on. Since 2004, he has earned a net worth of $300,000 for his advertisements.
The Target Lady
Maria Bamford is an esteemed comedian first, commercial actress second, and a true frontrunner of bringing the "unusual" to dry corporate commercials. She initially began her long career as a stand-up comedian and aspiring voice actor. She went on a few successful comedy tours, had a role in the film Lucky Numbers, and then starred in the hilariously weird Target commercials we all know and love.
Bamford's Future
Nowadays, Bamford has reached her goal and focuses entirely on voice acting. She was picked up because of her work done in the Target commercials that she got several more gigs on premiere programs like American Dad!, Bojack Horseman, CatDog, Adventure Time, and a few more. She earned $300,000 for her work with the Target ads, and even though she could have been paid a bit more, she still got out with everything she wanted.
The Most Interesting Man in the World
Jonathan Goldsmith is the most interesting man in the world, supposedly. He has been an actor since 1963 and used to appear only in Western movies for most of his longstanding career. In fact, you can spot Goldsmith appearing in well over 25 Western films, each with varying degrees of success. Hey, that is interesting!
Glory and Gold
When Goldsmith started cashing in on his commercials with Dos Equis, he singlehandedly was able to increase their meager profits by 15.4% in only one year. His original contract stated that he was to earn about $1 million from the liquor brand for doing the commercials. However, it's generally assumed that they sent him a little extra as a thank you for making the company so profitable overnight.
The Toyota Girl
Laurel Coppock started getting recognized online due to her very intriguing Toyota commercials. She's mostly known to her fans as Toyota Jan, but in the past, she played characters in other works like hit TV shows. She has been on Hot in Cleveland, Arrested Development, The Office, Modern Family, and many more.
Toyotathon Fun
Toyota Jan was a woman who loved Toyota cars so deeply that she would show up at dealerships and pretend to be one of the workers. Toyota loved her back and they paid the actress about $1 million just to smile and stand in front of the camera, pretending like she knows everything about a car. Coppock still grabs up parts here and there, but she takes it easy now that her bank account isn't in the red.
The "It's Not That Complicated" Guy
Does this guy look familiar? Beck Bennett wanted to be an actor since he was a child, so when he got this part, it was the start of a dream come true. He worked his way up through the onstage improv circuit until he started getting more commercial type of work. This particular part as the stern babysitting marketing manager with AT&T helped shape the course of the rest of Bennett's future.
Saturday Night Live
By portraying the ad's "It's Not That Complicated Guy" for AT&T, it not only made him an easy $250,000, but it also helped him snag himself a role on the coveted live comedy show, Saturday Night Live. He's been playing political characters like Donald Trump Jr. and Mitch McConnell for several years starting in 2013. He also had an online web series. However, Bennett's reign of hilarity doesn't look like it's ending any time soon.
The Orbit Gum Girl
Clean it up! Farris Patton is the actress that is better known for her part as the "Orbit Gum Lady." Her clean commercials feature her, typically wearing pristine white outfits (like pristine white teeth) in strange situations, smiling and simply telling the view to clean it up and chew Orbit gum. The premise is simple, but it's effective.
Cleaning It Up
These days, she is a skit actor on late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmell. She has starred in a few different projects, particularly she was the face of Famous Faces, a TV movie about the people who make commercials. Very fitting! She's a model as well, and she earned about $500,000 from the Orbit gum role.
The "Can You Hear Me Now" Guy
Can you hear him now? Paul Marcelli was the face of Verizon commercials for well over a decade. After a more lucrative contract situation was presented to him from Sprint, he made the choice to switch. Despite this betrayal, he is still beloved by many Verizon die-hards. That's right, this man got a lifetime of money and fame for saying "Can you hear me now?"
Earning Big
The "Can you hear me now?" campaign earned the trick eared Marcelli $9 million at the end of the day. That's his total earnings from the years 2001-2011. We don't know exactly how much he's making from Sprint, but if it's more than that, he's got to ber absolutely flushed with cash.
Mr. Mayhem
Mayhem can appear at any time and at any place, which is why Allstate hired actor Dean Winters to inform us all about it. Mr. Mayhem is one of Allstate's best marketing campaign characters. In fact, this guy is one of the highest performing Insurance company mascots television has ever seen (second only to the adorable Geico gecko).
See Him Again
Most people already know this, but Dean Winters is a successful actor in his own right. He's been on shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Law & Order SVU, Rescue Me, 30 Rock, Battle Creek, and many more. He has actually become more of a TV actor now that Allstate doesn't run his commercials as often as they did once upon a time. Oh, by the way, he made $4,750 every time one of the advertisements aired. That's a big chunk of cash...
ShamWow Guy
Some celebrities aren't made, they're born. Vince Offer (yes that is his actual name) became a viral sensation with his over-the-top commercials. He started his career as a comedian and a writer, but he started acting as a way to pay his rent. Acting quickly became more commercial gigs, and Vince found his footing by doing infomercials. It was better since they were longer than standard commercials.
Wise Guy
Not only did Vince star in all of his commercials, but he was also the writer and director of them. That's right, every single infomercial that this guy was in was a piece of his own work. Collecting about $2 million from doing the ShamWow commercial comes with a lot of labor, apparently.
Flo, From Progressive
Stephanie Courtney plays the iconic and memorable character of Flo, who is arguably the most happy-go-lucky insurance salesperson on television. Flo is known for her upbeat attitude, hilarious characters, and unwavering passion for high-quality insurance. Stephanie Courtney, however, isn't like that all the time (although she does seem to be a nice lady).
The Woman Behind Flo
The woman behind the character is much different. Courtney was first part of an underground theater club, but then she got her debut big break in commercials. She has been seen in a variety of shows such as Men of a Certain Age, Mad Men, Cavemen, and The Goldbergs. Her current contract with Progressive is worth $8 million, which might be the best insurance of all.
Little Mikey
Little Mikey might be lost on some of the younger generations, but he was the adorable young mascot for Life cereal for a time. The gist of it is that Little Mikey doesn't want to try the cereal, but his brothers make him try it out, and big surprise, he likes it. Pretty basic, right? Well, it was so simple and yet so effective that Little Mikey (played by John Gilchrist) was able to make a career out of it.
Bigger and Better
As it turns out, having one of the most successful commercials television has ever seen will put you in a pretty powerful financial situation at a crazy young age. Gilchrist has earned somewhere around $10 million from this aging commercial. That, and he became the face of a generation. Worth it!
The Dell Dude
You might recognize this throwback if you were an avid fan of television in the early 2000s. This guy is named Benjamin Curtis, and he is known as the Dell Dude. He was born in Tennessee, and he was only a small-time actor for a short period of his life before he landed his lucrative Dell gig. Before all of that, Curtis was actually a highly respected and beloved magician.
Time Flies
Nowadays, the TV's favorite Dell Dude isn't up to much of anything. The $50,000 that he got from doing the Dell spots has been used up and Curtis wasn't as able to score acting gigs after that. While he brought Dell a ton of revenue, it didn't do much for his own bank account longterm.
The 7 Up Guy
If you're drinking 7 UP, you're basking in the glow of Orlando Jones, the 7 Up Guy that time forgot! You might recognize him from his parts on MADtv or from any other of his numerous appearances on sketch comedy stages and series' over the past few decades. Despite being the goofy guy behind the lemon-lime soda, Jones actually got into the acting game by being a writer first.
Great Today
Nowadays, Orlando Jones is still sitting quite pretty. After he earned about $500,000 from his 7 Up spot, he was able to take other gigs, so now he's pretty much set for life. With smart financial planning, he was able to ride that money for a while. What a crazy opportunity!
The Trivago Guy
If you've ever had to book plans for a trip, you;ve probably considered doing it through Trivago. You might be considering that option because they're the most popular hotel locating website on the web, or you might know about the site because of this famous face right here. His real name is actually Timothy Williams, and Trivago can trace a ton of their success back to him.
International Actor
Timothy Williams has been everywhere. He's an actor from Germany that was born in Texas and moved to Europe for school. He was an actor in Germany for a short time, but he eventually moved to the US to get into bigger movies and commercials. Trivago wasn't even his highest-paying gig (he only got paid $20,000 for that), but it definitely was one of the more memorable commercial roles.
Bush's Baked Beans Guy
Jay Bush isn't just the face of the brand, he's actually one of the owners of Bush's Baked Beans. Even better is that the golden retriever that hangs out with him in every commercial is actually his real-life dog, who is named Duke. Jay has appeared in a large majority of Bush's Baked Beans commercials since the early 90s, but the new ones have Jay's son, who they also call "Bean Boy."
A Family Connection
Jay isn't just anyone, he's the grandson of the real original founder of Bush's Baked Beans. He was given the task of making sure that the secret family recipe doesn't get forgotten along the long line of family lineage. So, due to that, Jay has pretty much stopped doing Bush's commercials, and now he focuses on maintaining the quality of the family's legendary beans.
That's a Spicy Meatball!
The Alka-Seltzer commercial defined a whole kind of joke that has been passed down from generation to generation. Played by Jack Somack, he was the face of the brand. Really, "That's a spicy meatball" is way up there, probably only second to "Where's the beef?" in terms of iconic lines. Somack wasn't just a gig actor though, he appeared in a ton of huge films from the early-mid 1900s.
Man of Many Roles
Somack was also in the movies The Frisco Kid, Sanford and Son, Carlton Your Doorman, Desperate Characters, Portnoy's Complaint, and a ton of other movies and shows of the cinematic history. "That's a spicy meatball" was actually one of the lower-grade gigs that he took, but one of the longest-lasting impacts. It was so inconsequential that they only paid him $10,000 for the whole thing.
Mr. Whipple
Do you know who hated when his patrons squeezed his Charmin brand toilet paper? The nosy store clerk played by Dick Wilson in the Charmin commercials. That's literally the entire plot of his character—he's just a weirdo who gets annoyed when people roughhouse his toilet wipes. Dick Wilson was astonished that this role was so basic, but he rode it out for over 500 commercials worth of time.
Funny Guy
Back in the day, the weird Mr. Whipple was a staple character on television. His commercial even assisted the younger generations to get their start in acting. For example, Adam Savage of Mythbusters eventually became his stockboy in the programs. Wilson earned around $300,000 from portraying this wonky character over the decade. That's a small price to pay for 500-lifetime commercials.
Captain Morgan's Chief Party Officer
Right after his show Workaholics went off the air, actor Adam Devine took over the role of becoming the Chief Party Officer for the Captain Morgan company. It was a big responsibility! Though his show was just canceled, his movie Pitch Perfect had been released shortly after, so Adam Devine was a big deal in Hollywood. A classic celebrity endorsement can always get your product sales up!
Money Roles In
Devine netted $3 million in the end to be the party guy for The Captain. All he did was bring the fun and the rum and suddenly he earned more than most people in Hollywood do throughout their careers. Although, he did have to break the company record of "most time spent standing on one foot like the iconic Captain Morgan in your front yard" to get the gig, so he earned his keep there.
The Gas Station Pepsi Girl
You definitely know who this lady is, it's Cindy Crawford! She's one of the most beautiful supermodels in the industry and one of the most recognizable faces to ever hit the television screen. Most people recognize Cindy from her modeling work, but some people can distinctly remember when they first saw her Pepsi ad more than anything else.
Easy Earnings
Imagine having a job where all you have to do was to take a big sip of a Pepsi can and look directly into the camera. This netted her about $5 million in the end, which is over $150,000 per second of video. Crawford even returned to re-enact the same commercial for the 2018 Super Bowl, likely with an even bigger price tag attached,
The Pepperidge Farm Guy
You might have seen him mocked on the show Family Guy before, but did you know this was a real commercial? The Pepperidge Farm Guy, aka Charles C. Welch, had a 16 year run as the comforting bow-tied salesman for Pepperidge Farm's bakery. Unfortunately, he passed away from cancer in 2004.
A Legend Never Dies
Sammy Davis, Mary Tyler Moore, and Angela Lansbury were all some extremely famous theater actors that Welch worked with before he passed. He had made over 400 television appearances, such as when he was in General Hospital and Days of Our Lives. Welch earned over $200,000 for telling the camera "Pepperidge Farm remembers." Now that's easy money!