Gojomo

2002-12-28
eBay Tweaking Bezos?

Celebrity CEO Impersonations
You may have seen the new "Do It eBay" TV commercial: it features a middle-aged balding fellow, with a cherubic smile, who sings and dances to an eBay jingle which follows the tune of "My Way." More about the ad campaign, and a streamed version of the 1-minute TV spot, is available at this AdAge story.

Am I taking crazy pills here, or does the star of this commercial bear at least a passing resemblance to Jeff Bezos, CEO/Founder of eBay's arch-competitor Amazon.com?

Sure, the "Do It eBay" guy is shorter, balder, and chubby -- but from a distance, with that cheeky smile, that hair pattern, and that blue-and-khaki clothing, the first couple of times I saw this commercial out of the corner of my eye I thought it was Bezos singing and dancing for Amazon.com.

Look for yourself:

Amazon.com CEO
Jeff Bezos
Singing Dancing
"Do It eBay" Guy

Was someone at eBay or their ad agency being impish with this casting choice? Is it a coincidental resemblance? (Or am I just imagining things?)

(Images captured from streamed commercial with SnagIt, which has a DirectX mode which grabs images in Windows Media Player other screen-capture facilities miss.)


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