Expert: Kitty Kavey - 5/6/2005

Question
I find it astouding that  models do not require a small name credit in the ads they do.  Why do they not insist on this?
Commercial companies on their web sites do not  provide any way to ask the names of the models that appear in their ads.
Do you know of any way to find this information out?  Is there any central site that lists products, for example, and the names of the professional models/actors that appear either in print (magazines, newspapers) or t.v.?
If you are shown repeatedly selling a product on television, for example, wouldn't you want people to know your name?

Answer
It would be nice if they did have a small credit for the model in ads.  Certainly they do for cover models, and often calendar/swimsuit models as well.  There are a lot of companies, particularly on the web, who use stock photos of models, in which case it would be much more difficult for you to track down the exact model(s) used, and where they are now.  However, if you see an image of a model using the product, clearly the company's advertising department would have been involved, and should know what company they contacted to get the model.  I like www.hoovers.com to find the basic details of medium and large companies - particularly their contact information.  They do have a pay service that will give you in depth details, but usually the free information is enough to find what you need.  If you have a specific product/model you are looking for, you can also try searching websites like clipland.com (commercials), or try the ad company, if you know that.  Sometimes doing a client search for the product will let you know who shot the images, or the company who did the marketing or ad creation.  They should be able to lead you to who hired the model(s) in the specific ad.  You're right, to some extent I would want people to know my name if I was seen selling a product repeatedly on television.  Although I can remember the Bun & Thigh Max commercial I did, and how many people called me from around the country after they saw it, and how the 'before' picture was sooooo unflattering...Some things I'd be happy where people didn't know my name.
Best of luck to you,
~Kitty