Is a Sped Up Chipmunk Voice the Next Billy Mays?
July 16th, 2010 by Paul Lucas
“Flashlight Man” sounds like a really awful comic book superhero, but it is actually the name of a utility flashlight. The most interesting thing about the Flashlight Man infomercial, however, is not the product name but the audio track. The voice of the announcer sounds like it has been sped up:
I suppose they decided to speed up the voice in order to fit more of the script into the spot, but I don’t know how having a commercial that sounds like Alvin, Simon, or Theodore is doing the voice over work will increase sales.
Notice that the voice of the woman who gives the testimonial at 0:48 (“It’s so good looking, I often keep it on the counter where it’s handy.”) is not sped up at all. Also notice that the audio track seems out of sync. (The audio of the woman’s testimonial starts at 0:48 but the woman seems to appear on screen with those lines at 0:53.) The chipmunk announcer voice and this disconnect between audio and video may have something to do with one another.
Check out the official Flashlight Man page for yourself at www.FlashlightMan.com
And look for “The Adventures of Flashlight Man and Battery Boy” at your local comic book store.
The Flashlight Man is so good that it defies the laws of linear time and space!
Comment by Al Frank — July 16th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Yeah, the audio track is about five seconds out of sync with the video. The woman at 00:53 is actually mouthing the words, “It’s so good-looking, I-” and then it cuts to her placing the Flashlight man on the counter.
Comment by Thomas — July 16th, 2010 at 6:17 pm