Are commercials the new comedy career move? Countless popular comedians have incorporated commercial gigs into their professional repertoires. This year alone, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Tracy Morgan, Hannibal Buress (and more) are among the top acts bringing their signature humor to the set of major advertising gigs.
Depending on the size of the production, comedians can cash in on an estimated $10,000 – $50,000 per commercial. The exception to this being status; the bigger the star, the bigger the check. In 2016, Kevin Hart made roughly $2 million for Tweeting about two films. Hart has never publicly disclosed his payout from endorsement deals, but if 2 tweets earn him over $2M, we can only imagine what he makes from commercial features.
This past May (2018), Hart has locked in a contract with Mountain Dew. In January (2018), Tiffany Haddish landed an advertising partnership with Groupon (after mentioning the company on Jimmy Kimmel LIVE in July 2017). March (2018) brought on an NCAA March Madness feature for Tracy Morgan. Hannibal Buress collaborated with TURO, while Jay Pharoah teamed up with WiX. Deon Cole landed a Nissan Rouge spot in collaboration with the hit TV show ‘Black-ish’ and film ‘Solo Star Wars’. Also, Leslie Jones and JB Smoove joined together with Amazon as a part of the Alexa promotional series.
Comedians have been cashing in on advertising deals for some time, but the sudden surge in partnerships within the last year raises the question – are commercials becoming the new unwritten rules of the comedy game?
One thing is for sure, these comedians are the ones laughing all the way to the bank.
Watch The Ads:
1. Kevin Hart – Mountain Dew Kickstart (June 2018)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU410SgSi7k
2. Tiffany Haddish – Groupon (Jan 2018)
3. Hannibal Buress – TURO (June 2018)
4. Tracy Morgan – NCAA March Madness (March 2018)
5. Jay Pharoah – WiX (April 2018)
6. Deon Cole – Nissan Rouge (May 2018)
7. Leslie Jones & JB Smoove – Amazon’s Alexa (Feb 2018)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pypRKeF3u6A
8. Tracee Ellis Ross – VISA United Explorer Card (June 2018)
9. Issa Rae – Covergirl Exhibitionist Lipstick (July 2018)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANskMBhlbPs
