50 Familiar Faces From TV Commercials

There's nothing worse than having your program interrupted by a commercial break, however, some commercials have managed to win over audiences despite their inconvenience. These commercials usually have a bit of humor in them and are catchy at the same time. Therefore, companies decide to make these commercials into mini-series bringing back the same concept and actors to continue the running joke. While viewing these commercials you may notice some familiar faces, some may have already been famous and others may have become famous thanks to the commercials themselves. 

You might know her as the "Snapple Lady" but the woman behind the popular ad is Wendy Kaufman. The "Snapple Lady" is only one of many commercials she’s starred in over the years but it is also arguably the most popular of the bunch. 

Vanessa Lynn Branch is the lady behind several famous "Orbit Gum Girl" adverts; she’s starred in all of the brand’s commercials in recent times, barring her heart-warming smile that certainly convinces you to try an Orbit. Besides being the "Orbit Gum Girl," Vanessa has also worked on projects like Redline, Little Hercules, and 90210.  

Colin Ferguson is best known for his role as Sheriff Carter in Eureka. He’s also appeared on a host of TV shows, including Then Came You. His most popular character is "The Maytag Man," a role he landed in 2014, which pays him $1 million per year. 

Diane Amos has had a successful partnership with Pine-Sol, a cleaning product brand. She’s best known for the Pine-Sol commercials because she almost single-handedly popularized the products, but she’s also been featured in projects like Patch Adams, Jasmine, Twisted, and Sweet November over the years. 

The beautiful freckled face that we all know as "The Wendy’s Girl" is actually Morgan Smith-Goodwin. Morgan Smith-Goodwin landed the role in the commercial because she fit the brand’s plan to hire someone that looked like the pioneer Wendy for the role. Morgan was raised in Alabama, where she attended Birmingham Southern College. She moved to the Big Apple to pursue her passion for acting and while there, she got to perform in several concerts and benefits that gave her the publicity she needed on her way to landing her first Broadway role.

The lady we all know as "The Target Lady" is Maria Bamford, a gifted voice actress and stand-up comedian with an enthusiastic personality that has enabled her to create a lasting impression, the kind that makes brands popular. 

Old Spice is a famous brand that made Isaiah Mustafa famous as "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like." Isaiah’s manly man vibe and personality helped the campaign immensely and was just what the brand needed.

Jonathan Goldsmith’s intriguing feature in a Dos Equis Beer marketing campaign earned him the title of "The Most Interesting Man in the World." His charisma and intriguing personality resonated with audiences so much that he went viral, and became a meme. 

Angela Sarafyan is an American actress best known for her role as "The Umbrella Girl" in the Cingular Wireless commercials. The commercials were quite popular and successful, and as a result, she began to land successful non-commercial roles as well. 

Chanel is a luxury fashion house that enlisted the help of Brad Pitt to promote their Chanel No. 5 perfume line when it was released. He was the first man to promote the Chanel No. 5 line and the company had to pay $7 million to get him on board. 

Demetri Goritsas is an American actor best known as the "Slim Jim Guy." His role in multiple successful movies pales in comparison with the publicity he gets from the commercial. Demetri got trained at the Royal School of Speech & Drama, and he also doubles as a documentary narrator in addition to his work in entertainment. 

Kevin Miles’ role as "Jake from State Farm" in the State Farm commercial is the most popular of the many roles on his commendable resume. He popularized the "It’s Jake… from State Farm" line and as a result, he helped the brand improve its turnover. 

In addition to being a retired football player that enjoyed a remarkable career, David Beckham is also something of a fashion icon so it's no surprise that Adidas paid him so much money to get him to endorse their products. 

Nathan Barnatt isn’t the most famous face in commercials, but the success of the Kmart commercials he was featured in means he still deserves a mention. Barnatt was featured as an overly excited dude on a mission to publicize the "Kmart Shop Your Way Points" campaign. 

It would be an injustice to link Gillian Vigman to one individual brand because she’s worked with a number of brands over the years in addition to her acting. Gillian has been featured in movies like Walk of Shame and The Hangover, as well as New Girl, Life Sentence, and Star Trek: Lower Decks. 

50 Cent raked in a whopping $80 million from his partnership with Reebok, which at the time was one of the most expensive celebrity endorsements. He was enlisted by the brand to promote their G Unit sneakers and he got to wear some of the shoes himself. 

Trivago is a brand that helps people find cheaper accommodations for their weekend getaways. They created a memorable campaign to push their message to the audience and therefore enlisted Tim Williams to help them spread the word. 

LeBron James is definitely one of the greatest NBA players of his generation. He’s a terrific athlete with a respectable following so endorsement deals are always on deck for him. Nike paid him $90 million to get him to sign a seven-year contract.

As a result of their successful marketing campaigns, Sonic Drive-In is regarded as a fun place to be in the summer. Their "Two Guys" campaign starring Peter Grosz and T.J. Jagodowski is particularly convincing.

Paul Marcarelli's decision to switch to Sprint and star in commercials for the company surprised many because, for many years, he had been the spokesperson for Verizon. He coined the famous catchphrase, "can you hear me now" while working for Verizon, and he was a member of the Verizon team for nearly a decade before he switched. 

As a result of his role in commercials for Allstate Insurance, Dennis Haysbert became one of the most recognizable commercial actors. He’s had such a long and fruitful partnership with the brand that his role is sometimes referenced in campaigns. 

Dean Winters is a famous TV and commercial actor best known for playing the role of Mayhem in the Allstate auto insurance commercials. He’d earned a reputation for playing tough-guy roles so the Mayhem character was a perfect fit as he was already famous before the collaboration. 

You might remember Leonardo DiCaprio's remarkable performance in Titanic as he was still quite young when he starred alongside Kate Winslet in the blockbuster. However, the star actor had been around for a while before he starred in any movie. 

Little Mikey is a likable kid that starred in the Life cereal commercials, delivering a performance for the ages in the process. The commercial stars Little Mikey and his brother, who tried to get him to have a taste of Life cereal, and once he did, he found that he actually liked the taste. 

Ben Curtis is a Tennessee native best known for his role in multiple memorable Dell ads. Becoming the face of Dell worked wonders for Curtis’ career as an actor, but before that, he was an equally gifted magician. 

Orlando Jones was called the "7 Up Guy" for years because he was the brand’s spokesperson for three years. His remarkable writing chops and comedic ability combined to make him the perfect candidate for the 7-Up commercials in the brand’s opinion and they were proven right. 

Audiences refer to her as the "I’ve Fallen, and I Can’t Get Up Lady" from the LifeCall commercials but her real name is Edith Fore. The amount of money she was paid for the ad is unknown but we do know that she became famous for it at the very least. 

The Jenny Craig commercial in 2012 featured Valerie Bertinelli in a marketing campaign centered around weight loss. The highlight of the commercial was when Valerie walked out in a bathing suit to the delight of viewers. 

Catherine Zeta and T-Mobile had a successful partnership but they had to part with $20 million to get her to endorse and promote their brand. The good thing is she was worth every penny as the campaign was quite popular. 

Kelly Lebrock is also called the "Pantene Girl" thanks to her incredible curls in the Pantene marketing campaign. She coined the "Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful" line during the commercial, and because of her, it quickly became a famous line in the 80s when the commercial was released. 

Hallie Eisenberg is best known as the "Pepsi Girl" because the commercials made her quite the famous face on TV in the early 2000s. What set her commercials apart was the amount of light-hearted humor they contained, which helped market the Pepsi brand. 

Jay-Z is a talented rapper and one of the most successful entertainers in the world. Samsung tried to tap into that success by entering into a partnership with the rapper in which he’d promote the Samsung Galaxy while promoting his album. 

Like her husband, Jay Z, Beyoncé has also been part of a successful marketing campaign for a major brand. The A-List singer and actress has amassed a huge following over the years in the entertainment industry, which benefitted Pepsi significantly after they paid her $50 million to promote their brand. 

Everything was going great for Tiger Woods until he became involved in scandals and controversies that derailed his career. Fortunately, those scandals didn’t get in the way of his endorsement deals as Nike stuck by his side throughout the whole ordeal.

J.K. Simmons is a tenacious actor whose face is recognizable to movie fans all over the world. Beyond his appearances in movies and TV shows, he’s also known for his partnership with the Farmers Insurance Group for whom he plays the role of Professor Nathaniel Burke of the University of Farmers.  

Milana Vayntrub is a famous commercial actor known for her role as a spokesperson for AT&T. She was enlisted to play the role of Lily Adams from 2013 to 2016, but after exceeding expectations, her contract was extended by four years. 

Stephanie Courtney is arguably the most recognizable commercial actor thanks to her performance as an insurance agent in commercials for the Progressive brand. Her iconic hair, blue headband, and red lipstick make the commercial difficult to forget. 

Angelina Jolie partnered with Louis Vuitton, a high-end luxury designer known for quality products and wears to promote their beautiful handbags. The company had to pay the stunning actress $10 million to get her to feature in a commercial with their bag. 

Karan Soni’s role as the cab driver and protagonist’s sidekick in the Deadpool movies made him famous but he’d actually been around for a while before he landed that role. He was featured as AT&T’s Charlie, a likable IT nerd that came off as a bit weird but then his pickup line more than made up for it. 

AT&T had a memorable commercial some years ago in which a businessman was featured having a conversation with a couple of kindergarten-grade kids. Beck Bennett played the role of that businessman, and the ad was a good thing for the network company and Bennett himself as he has become a lot more famous as a result. 

Brandon Moynihan starred as "Captain Obvious" in a commercial for Hotels.com. The character was featured in the ad to demonstrate how seamless the process of booking accommodations with the company is. 

Jeff Goldblum is best known for his role in Jurassic Park, and for starring as the Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnorak. However, his best work might be as Brad Bellflower in the commercials for Apartments.com where his eccentric nature and personality were the highlights of a memorable ad. 

Laurel Coppock is the actress behind Jan from the Toyota commercials character that viewers adore. The beautiful actress has been featured in projects like Crazy, Stupid, Love, Hot in Cleveland, and 2 Broke Girls. 

Jake Wood is best known for portraying the likable green gecko in several commercials for the Geico brand. The British actor is also known for his work in multiple BBC TV shows, and he’s also been featured in a couple of movies as well over the years. 

Justin Hagan and Henry Strozier were featured together in intriguing commercials where they both were harvesting cranberries for juice in the cranberry bogs. The actors mostly did minor roles on TV shows like Madam Secretary and The Good Wife before that point so the commercial was good for the pair as they became more famous as a result. 

At the height of the commercial’s fame, Vince Offer’s "ShamWow Guy" character was one of the most famous ad characters. Vince began by promoting ShamWow and Slap Chop before he rose to prominence as a result of his infectious energy and quick wit. 

M&M’s well-received campaigns were actually performed by well-known actors. Billy West voiced the red M&M while J.K. Simmons voiced the yellow one. It’s unsurprising that the commercial is so memorable and successful as Billy West is an accomplished voice actor while his co-star, Simmons is an Academy Award-winning actor best known for his role in Whiplash. 

The Geico Caveman character for the Geico insurance brand took a lot of work and makeup to complete, and the actor behind the commercial is John Lehr whose face looks nothing like the cheeky character. Lehr is also a successful comedian and actor that has established himself in show business.

The man viewers know as Dr. Rick on the popular Progressive Insurance commercials is Chicago native Bill Glass. The ads undoubtedly exceeded expectations, and they feature Dr. Rick, a self-help pro with a hilarious mustache that is trying to stop younger people from acting like their parents, just because they bought a house.