Oct 1, 2003 12:00 PM

Guess we have to admit it: Andy Warhol was prescient. A generation ago, he foresaw the day when everyone would get their moment in the spotlight, however briefly (he figured about 15 minutes apiece). And now, thanks to reality TV, the American public gets to watch the folks next door in the most intimate moments of courtship, consummation and marriage (in that order) via The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Who Wants to Marry My Father? and the many other variations on this theme. On the next channel, we get to see real emergency room staff handle grisly real crises; we can even watch (shudder!) elective cosmetic surgery on network TV via Extreme Makeover and shows of its ilk. The list goes on.

Then, of course, there's the Internet, in which Web-cam fed sites give us a window into the living rooms — alright, more typically bedrooms — of the really unabashed folks out there. Judging by the number of hits some of these sites get, there actually is an audience out there that likes to watch these exhibitionists performing their everyday activities. They check out Suzy Showoff emptying the cat box on the chance that they'll be tuned in when she brings home that hot date.

And now we have reality marketing. As Senior Writer Carrie MacMillan learned when researching this month's cover story (beginning on p. 38), more marketers are lifting the foks next door out of obscurity and giving them a shot at fame. Whether via contests or sweepstakes or some other selection process, these non-celebrities have won opportunities to represent a variety of brands, in product categories from fast food to electronics. Chrysler, Sony, Subway and AT&T top a representative list. So far, the results have been surprisingly fresh creative and implementation.

The real test, however, will be how much, if at all, these fresh faces enhance the brand's long-term health. After all, it's one thing for a Soho artist (or small-town school teacher) to grab the spotlight for 15 minutes, and then fade into obscurity. No marketer wants to see his or her brand suffer the same fate.

Want to check out some brands that are in it for the long haul? Be sure to watch for the 2003 PRO Award winners, announced at the PROMO Expo gala dinner in Chicago on Oct. 1, and in next month's issue of the magazine.

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