Spokesperson fiasco #12: The Dell Dude does drugs
Posted by: in Marketing and AdvertisingFiled under: Dell (DELL), Marketing and advertising
This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.
When Ben Curtis first hit the TV advertisement airwaves, I couldn’t decide whether I was enchanted or annoyed. Computers were all the rage and Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) was the sweetest apple on the Computer tree. When the “Dell Dude” enthusiastically told his tiny friend, “Dude, you’re getting a Dell!” — weren’t we all a tiny excited?
And, let’s be honest, wasn’t he — and Dell — trading on the unspoken currency of the pot-smoking twang in his voice? It was hilarious, this college kid computer cheerleader. Unfortunately, hilarity equaled truth. In 2003 (right around the time he was phased out by the four cute Dell interns — which is a whole different story) Curtis was busted for buying a very small amount of pot. “For personal use.”
It was hardly the criminal arrest of the century (probably not even of that night in New York), it marked the end of Curtis’ career with Dell. It didn’t signal the end of his notoriety, however; he was given some coverage late last year for his bartending gig at Tortilla Flats, a popular financial district eatery in New York. The story goes that he makes great tips from fans of his former alter ego, and he’s often asked to say his money line. He even dressed up as the Dell Dude for Halloween.
Who wants to bet we’ll see him in an indie flick before too long?
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