By STUART ELLIOTT
Just as the unknowns who showed up on screen in the early days of television gave way to radio and movie stars like Jack Benny and Bob Hope, more famous faces are supplanting everyday people in Web series, particularly when the video clips are sponsored by advertisers.
Online video, in its initial phases, was populated mostly by unknowns because many stars were reluctant to lend their prestige to an untried medium. Now, though, the ability of celebrities to cut through the clutter means that familiar actors, athletes, comedians, models and singers are being cast for webisodes.
It is “the value of borrowed interest,” said Howard Friedman, senior vice president of marketing for Kraft cheese and dairy at Kraft Foods. An online campaign for Philadelphia cream cheese, handled by Digitas and Eqal, uses Paula Deen, the cook, author and TV host, to encourage “real women” to upload video clips in which they make favorite recipes.
About 5,100 videos have been submitted, Mr. Friedman said, mainly because of Ms. Deen’s ability to “mirror” the personality traits of the customer whom Kraft was trying to reach like being “someone who loves the busyness in her life.”