Advertising Archives

BEST HOLIDAY COMMERCIALS 2020

Holiday commercials to me are like Hallmark Christmas movies to others. I know we’re just at the beginning of the season, but I thought I’d share some of the Best Holiday Commercials of 2020…at least in my opinion.

Besides a funny Capital One commercial starring John Travolta as Santa and Samuel L Jackson as his “promo coupon guide,” I think most of the 2020 Holiday ads will be heartfelt. With COVID cases on the rise, the holidays will be lonelier than ever to some. I think that’s why this Kohl’s commercial brought me to tears…

Kohl’s “Give with all your Heart” spot | Yard NYC Agency

Need a tissue nearby for that one, huh?

This next one will just fill your heart with warm fuzzies. Seeing someone meet someone else where they’re at is what community and unity is all about.

Hallmark | Leo Burnett Agency

Way to go Hallmark…give us a commercial that speaks to our hearts just like your cards do. Beautiful.

And this next one will make you laugh and then make you cry. So sweet…

Paypal | Agency Unknown

And this next one is so relatable to so many…

Etsy | 72andSunny Agency

Do you have a name that was hard to find? My husband’s name is Mike and I’m like…I bet you could buy a license plate keychain in whatever state you went to with your name on it, you lucky duck. ;p

The holidays look different for us all this year in the midst of a global pandemic. My hope is that we can all find a little joy in the midst of it…even if it’s for a moment.

Great job to these voiceover actors, ad agencies and brands!

Heidi Rew

RADIO IMAGING DEMO

Acting & Hosting, Advertising, Voiceover

I was on air in radio for 8 years, plus additional weekend and fill-in work for 2 years after I went full-time into voiceover and acting. Never in a million years did I think I’d do radio imaging but I just wrapped up recording my radio imaging demo.

The Radio Voice

When I was in radio, you still had the booming, commanding voices doing radio imaging. That was NOT me. I actually kind of stumbled into a radio imaging job. A fellow VO friend said she knew someone that was looking for a female radio imaging voice talent and passed the audition to me. I ended up booking it.

Post Grad Goals

The even funnier part is that it’s for the radio group I first interviewed for after college. I even tried to get a job as a receptionist – anything to get my foot in the door but they never hired me.

That imaging job led me to being the imaging voice for the same radio company’s positive hip hop channel (LF Radio) and the voice for The JR Show on the Joy FM network.

My radio career spanned from J103 in Chattanooga, 104.7 The Fish and B98.5 in Atlanta. I was on air and did traffic throughout my time there. Oh…AND worked in marketing in Chattanooga. In radio, you wear a lot of different hats.

My whole goal out of college was to be a morning show host. When I left radio in 2012, I was crushed. I didn’t really want to leave radio but a lot of different things led to that decision. A part of me felt like a failure for not reaching my goal and I felt directionless. I started on the path of being a full-time voice talent and actor but that was (is) such an uncertain industry.

Best of Both Worlds

Fast forward to 2020 and I’m SO grateful for that change in direction. Not to mention, I’m still able to get a little taste of radio with radio imaging.

I worked with Eric Romanowski on coaching and prepping for the radio imaging demo. He’s wonderful! Very knowledgeable and I learned a lot.

Here’s the finished product…

I’m definitely not the commanding, booming female radio imaging voice but Eric helped me find my voice as the relatable, friendly, sexy, smooth, joyful, millennial, real, fun and sassy female radio imaging voice.

To hear more of the genres of voiceover I can do, CLICK HERE.

And what a great reminder that sometimes a redirection can bring you right back to your first love.

Heidi Rew

A SWEET VOICEOVER

Advertising, Food & Drink, Voiceover

It’s always exciting when you get to do a voiceover for a company you personally use…especially when you’re talking about a sweet treat! I call that one sweet voiceover. That was the case when I booked Edible Arrangements. I love getting and sending Edible Arrangements.

When I booked it, it happened to fall right at the beginning of COVID19 and they were offering FREE delivery. I wanted to figure out a way to send my friends some joy during this time and with free delivery, Edible Arrangements was the perfect solution. My friends all loved them and it was such a great way to feel connected, despite being quarantined.

Here are a few of the commercials I’ve done for them:

Mother’s Day

Free Delivery

TV Spot

Edible always wants my upbeat, peppy, smiley reads for these commercials. I guess if you’re saying “Joy” you need to sound JOY-ful!

I’m partial to the classic chocolate-dipped strawberries but you can’t go wrong with anything from Edible. They even offer fresh produce, cookies, popcorn and a ton of other goodies. With so many more sweet treats to choose from, think about sending an Edible Arrangement to a friend or family member!

To hear more of my commercial voiceover reads, go HERE.

BLACK VOICES IN ADVERTISING

Advertising, Voiceover

As a voiceover actor, I want to highlight an incredible black-owned advertising agency that’s creating powerful messages for brands. These past couple of weeks have been emotional, heart-breaking and eye-opening. It’s led to conversations and a stretching of myself that I didn’t even realize was necessary.

One of the bright spots, though, has been seeing so many black businesses shared and promoted on social media. Waiting on a new hair product from one as we speak (I guess it would be “as I type” ;p).

Because I’m in the world of voiceover and love commercials and advertising, I wanted to share a black-owned and run creative agency whose purpose is to create ideas that bring awareness to and shift perceptions on racial bias and injustice.

SATURDAY MORNING, made up of founders Jayanta Jenkins, Kwame Taylor-Hayford, Keith Cartwright and Geoff Edwards with Deja Cox as the partner lead, created a powerful film for P&G to celebrate black male pride. It’s called The Look and its purpose is for the viewer to experience what it’s like to be a black man in America.

It’s really powerful and you can see it HERE

Thank you Saturday Morning for how you’re impacting the world through advertising! My hope is that the change happening in the world continues to impact the advertising and commercial world as well. I look forward to seeing more diversity in voiceover and more agencies like Saturday Morning spring up.

I hope this is one more step in ensuring black voices are heard. I’m listening.

https://www.saturdaymorning.co/

HEIDI REW