A Most Successful Formula

(Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
Corporations often spend millions of dollars to secure celebrity endorsements. But commercial campaigns can be wiped out overnight if a celebrity says the wrong thing or their image changes
To just put a celebrity up there, to just put a celebrity up there (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
Hi, this is Marion Ross. (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
See if you can identify this sound. (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
That's the sound of me being hit by a tennis ball
(Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
And believe me, it hurts. (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)

To just put a celebrity up there, to just put a celebrity up there, and have him hawk your product, or work, (And believe me, it hurts)
Putting them there in a way that is engaging, is charming, has a bit of a story going for it, we have found, is really
(Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
A most successful formula. (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
A most successful formula. (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
Be very quiet please! (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
Ready to go, rolling. (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
The Madonna media blitz for Pepsi will begin in March when the new commercials are scheduled to premier in the U.S., Japan, Australia, and the Soviet Union. And as a footnote from an earlier soft drink campaign, it was exactly 5 years ago today that Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in Los Angeles. (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)

It didn't seem strange to me. (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
It didn't seem strange to me. (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
It didn't, it didn't seem like (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
Like out-and-out saying "Hi, I'm me, I'm using this to sell you this." (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
(From credit cards to underwear)
Sell you this. Sell you this
Hello, this is William Christopher from MASH and AfterMASH (Sell you this)
But I've got to admit there's a string attached, a string called dental floss. (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)

Now listen to this. (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
Hello, I'm Chuck Connors for the Giraffe Project
(Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
Thank you. (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
People were coming up to me saying, I love Family Times, I love Back to the Future, and I love that Pepsi commercial! I love it, and kids loved it, and they started to treat it like a movie
(And playback! And playback!)
(Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)

Viewers guess that the celebrity has been bought
(Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
And they are right
Here comes a famous Hollywood superstar! (Hi, hi-hi-hi)
Buenos días, darling! (Hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
Hello, I'm Alan Thicke. (Hi, this is Barbara Eden)
Hello, this is James Coco. (It's perfectly normal and usually nothing to worry about, but if it's done too often...)
(Hello— hello, this— hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán) (Thank you)
Viewers have a way of remembering the celebrity while forgetting the product. (A most successful formula)
I did not know this when I paid Eleanor Roosevelt thirty-five thousand dollars to make a commercial for margarine. (Thank you)
She reported that her mail was equally divided. (Thank you)
"One half was sad, because I had damaged my reputation. The other half was happy, because I had damaged my reputation."
(Be very quiet please! Ready, roll. Rolling.)
Not one of my proudest memories
(Right, roll sound. Ready, and, playback!)
(He— he— hello, hello, he— hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)
(He— he— hello, hello, he— hello, this is Ricardo Montalbán)