Clay Jackson, a 6-foot-6, 33-year-old real estate salesman in Richmond, Va., will be introduced today as the new Maytag repairman. Unlike his three predecessors--Jesse White, 1967-88; Gordon Jump,
1989-2003; and Hardy Rawls, 2003-2007--Jackson is not an experienced actor.
When Rawls's contract expired, Maytag decided to expand the auditions for a replacement beyond professional
actors. There were live auditions in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York open to pros and amateurs alike. The process was chronicled on nextmaytagrepairman.com.
Jackson will be featured in TV,
radio, print and online ads and will make more than 100 public appearances each year. He will help change the character's persona from someone "who had nothing to do" to someone who "is out and about
because he wants to fix things," says Jeffrey Davidoff, vice president for Maytag brand marketing at parent Whirlpool Corporation.
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