Female Voice Over Talent
Years ago you heard mostly big deep voices on American radio and television. Male voices recorded the majority of commercials, voiced the program intros and did the DJ patter between tunes on the radiso. That is no longer the case.
Beginning in the 1970’s a combination of government regulations (EEO) and a more sophisticated marketing outlook by advertisers brought many more women and minorities to the airways. Commercials for products used exclusively by women are now rarely narrated by male voice talent. It just makes sense.
At the national level one of my all time favorites is Linda Hunt. She has a masterful way with word expression and phrasing wrapped in nuance. I don't hear her much on commercials these days. It may be due to the current trend of casting young and perky female and young and pukey male voice over talent. Linda has a busy on-camera career going. I just miss hearing her treatment of commercial copy now and then.
In the Dallas market, I admire the work of my friend Sheridan Wright. We work together on boy-girl political stuff occasionally. Aleshia Force and Amy Vanderoef are fun to read with, Emily Gray has that British thing going, Starlene Stringer is a hoot, and Martha Wilson is a great narrator. Nobody does up-beat retail like Vicky Hutson. Carol Farabee is amazingly versatile.
For certain product categories, advertisers still prefer to cast male voice talent. For example, I can’t remember ever hearing a trailer for a theatrical horror film or war movie voiced by a female. But I could be wrong.
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