Morgan, Milana, and Stephanie! If you watch television everyday, there’s a good chance that you see all three of these talented ladies. . . everyday. Morgan Smith Goodwin is the bright, smiling, red-haired face of WENDY’S, Milana Vanytrub is sweet “Lily” the AT&T “supervisor,” who seems to be constantly on the air, and Stephanie Courtney is the grand dame of continuing commercial characters, the wonderful Flo in the ENTERPRISE ads. A few weeks ago, I got thinking about these reappearing personalities of ad-land. We see them on our TV’s more often than the stars of THE GOOD WIFE or CASTLE or GREY’S ANATOMY or any other current show or popular film. They’re in our living room so often they could be neighbors, But ACCESS HOLLYWOOD and shows of a similar ilk only care about the series and film stars. I’d like to briefly tell you about these three comm-celebs, who I think areTV stars in their own right.
"Now That's Better!"
Morgan Smith Goodwin Wendy’s character apparently works in some office where she is constantly introducing her coworkers to new Wendy’s lunch delights. When they have tasted the new fast food sandwich or salad, they all agree that “now that’s better” than what they had been eating before. My research informed me that Morgan has been the face of WENDY’s “Now That’s Better” campaign since April of 2012, which certainly secures her spot in the gallery of successful continuing commercial characters. Morgan is 28 and studied musical theater in college. She spent some time in New York City honing her theatrical skills and appeared in the off-broadway production FRECKLEFACE STRAWBERRY, which sounds like the perfect vehicle for her.
"I am the supervisor."
What little biographical information I could find about Milana Vanytrub included the facts that she is 5’3” tall and is from Uzbekistan. There is nothing Uzbekistan-ish about her accent so she must have arrived in the U.S. when she was a little kid. She plays the sweet, always-smiling “supervisor” in the AT&T commercials. She is, I believe, the up- and-comer in the continuing commercial universe. Her character has even grown over the months since the commercials began. She started as the attentive, attractive supervisor. Now her character has a name, Lily Evans, and her most recent advertisement, where we find out that Lily was a high school J.V. point guard, pairs her with basketball great Grant Hill. That’s considerable commercial character growth. Milana has appeared in such movies as “Life Happens” and “Junk,” and television shows as dissimilar as “Californication” and “Lizzie McGuire.” Talk about range! Milana is a funny lady. Some of her web work is on the website “Funny or Die.” She is one of the leading faces in the delightful “bitchy-resting-face,” which if you haven’t seen, you should watch here and soon.
Every genre needs a king or in this case, a queen, and Stephanie Courtney, as the irrepressible Flo of ENTERPRISE insurance fame is, for me, the greatest continuing commercial character. The ad campaign began in 2008 and continues strong, which is a pretty good run for any TV vehicle. I really get a kick out of the ads, my favorite being the one where while luring two young guys to PROGRESSIVE, she, in a noir-ish way, steps back into the shadows. When the guys tell her that they still can see her, she assures them that they can’t. Flo is a funny character. Stephanie Courtney is a funny lady. A native of Stony Point, NY, she graduated from the Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC and started working at stand up comedy. She came to LA and now is a main company member of the famous sketch and improv group The Groundlings in Los Angeles. She has appeared at comedy festivals and has written co-written a show, “Those Courtney Sisters,” with her sister Jennifer. Humorously self-effacing, Stephanie has said that there is nothing sexy about Flo. In fact, she has said that the Geiko Gecko is sexier than Flo will ever be.
I tried to research how much these top-tiered commercial actors make and whether they are paid each time a commercial is aired. Do they drive Beemers or Kias? I couldn’t find much about it, but I hope they make a lot of money, because their characters are certainly making a lot of money for the companies they represent, and continuing characters on network show make tons.
I also tried to come up with a male continuing commercial character. The only one who I could remember who I thought was really good, was the rough and tough guy who used to do the FORD commercials, but I don’t think he’s on the air now. I refuse to accept Bill Cowher as an “actor.”
I imagine many people will think I chose wrong in telling the stories of this trio. That’s fine. Choose your own and do some research. Maybe we can come up with an all-star continuing commercial character lineup starting with Morgan, Milana, and Stephanie.
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