It’s strange while watching a commercial and recognizing one of the “actual customers.” Like most companies, Vonage uses customer testimonials. As these people rave about the company, “Actual Vonage Customers” pops up on the screen. Since consumers are used to seeing “Actor portrayals,” it is quite a switch to be able to watch real customers. That is until one of them is recognized, and not because they are personally known.
One of the women in the Vonage ad identifies herself as Laura Pruden. The name doesn’t immediately stand out, but her face does. She is an actress who recently portrayed Grace Daniels in a breastfeeding spoof for the Onion Network. The video seems so real that many people think it is. So how much faith can be given to Vonage to have her rave about their company?
To give Vonage the benefit of the doubt that Ms. Pruden actually uses their service, wouldn’t it have made more sense for them to use an ordinary person in their commercials? Are all of their actual customers used in commercials actors? If so, it takes away from their credibility. After all, actors act. That is what they get paid for. Certainly, Ms. Pruden was paid for her testimonial. Was she told what to say as well?
Anyone who has watched her performance as a disgruntled breast feeding mother can see how good she is at deception, even if it was tongue in cheek. Whatever the truth is, it certainly doesn’t look good for Vonage either way.
