• The Associated Press, Monday, March 27, 2006 11:45 AM

Marketers are spending big bucks to use famous movie stars in their ads, but more often than not consumers don't even know it. That's because only the stars' voices are being heard--their faces are never seen. In this new trend, stars like George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Kelsey Grammer and Kiefer Sutherland act as voiceovers in commercials for products ranging from pizzas and cars to computers and beer. But the question is whether marketers are getting their money's worth, since consumers don't always recognize the voices. "Honestly, sometimes I'm mystified," says Maureen Kelly, a casting director who has worked in the voiceover field for two decades. "I guarantee you most people couldn't tell the AOL voice was Julia Roberts. I'm just not sure why advertisers spend this astronomical amount of money when the voice isn't even identifiable." Dan McHugh, vice president for trademark brands for Anheuser-Busch, said the company was searching for "a classic voice" last year when it hit on actor George Clooney as the perfect embodiment of its product. The idea, says McHugh, is that the consumer will "sort of know the voice. They may not necessarily place it right away, but when they do, they say, 'Wow!' It's that whole intrigue of discovery." In other words, the "cool" factor is elevated because there's mystery involved.

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