Kevin Spacey in Olympus PEN advert

Spacey – the final frontier?

The new ads for the new Olympus PEN with Keven Spacey have created quite a stir. Spacey is a great brand for Olympus to be associated with, being that rarest of beasts, an instantly recognisable movie star with highbrow credentials (he’s artistic director of the Old Vic theatre). His louche yet razor-sharp delivery perfectly encapsulates the aspirational credentials of the Pen, and it just works.

Rather than trying to explain what the Olympus PEN is, Spacey tries to make the camera cool, sexy even, and the tagline ‘Don’t be a tourist’ is destined to be a classic. So will this trigger a wave of camera ads with international celebrities? It’s worked for insurance companies (Iggy Pop, Michael Winner) and PC World (er, Christian Slater...) TV camera ads are quite rare at the moment, apart from the annoying Panasonic one where the lady photographs a break-dancing Statue of Liberty, so it’d be good to see more. Who’s next after Spacey? George Clooney selling Canons? Nick Nolte selling Nikons? Sly Stallone selling Sony? We’re running out of alliterations, so let us know your suggestions!