Yesterday, we spent the afternoon watching an instructional DVD on Wella's new professional color line. Wella is owned by P&G, and it was pretty obvious (to me) that the film was produced in Cincinnati, but the voice-over was British (and the models were stunning). It was such a purposeful choice of VO that I felt manipulated; but at the same time I was mentally applauding the use of the British-accent device.Lately I've begun to notice that a lot of top tier, celebrity stylists have British accents. Back when I was in Ad Land everyone wanted a Brand Planner with a British accent. All the in-demand, "best," brand planners had British accents. My team once spent many months interviewing Planners, we'd get discouraged and would always say, "If only we could find someone with a British accent." If there was a guy with a British accent we'd always put him in the meeting. It's the same for hair. The stylist from the United Kingdom cannot go wrong. So I Googled "British accents make you cool," and this is what I got:
Having a British accent makes a person sound smart, cool and sophisticated. There's something in the way Brits talk that makes you want to believe in everything they say. If you want to sound like you belong to a higher state in society or just to impress your office buddies, here are some reminders and steps you can follow to pick up the tone and adapt to the speech pattern.
Funny, it's the same in Hair World as it is in Ad Land. Perhaps I should incorporate a British accent into my reinvention.
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2 comments:
The new Chief Strategy Officer at your old agency (where I now work again) has a British-y accent, by way of New Zealand.
Love your blog. (I saw it on MIchele Hush's blog roll; she and I worked together at the old agency.) Hair! Who knew?
Mary -- "... she and I worked together...." of course I remember YOU! It's funny about the accent thing. I need to find a speech therapist who will teach me how to fake it. I'm sure I wouldn't be the first.. Have you been there all along? Is it true they had to bring in industrial psychologists to help people deal with open office? Frankly, I've never been able to recover from the crack of the "double window/sofa/door you can close."
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