In recognition of this weekend’s 90th Academy Awards, voice-over audio and video marketplace Voices.com has released the results of an industry survey to uncover the most sought-after celebrity voices of 2018.
The report reveals the most popular celebrity voices according to marketing and advertising professionals, as well as how these professionals plan to use celebrity talent and related vocal archetypes in 2018 campaigns.
Based on current and cultural preferences of target consumers, the following celebrities were identified as the top choices for upcoming campaigns and projects:
Repeating an ongoing trend from the last several years, Morgan Freeman was the top choice among those surveyed for the report.
The findings underscore the demand for familiar-sounding voice-over talent in commercials, videos, audiobooks, documentaries, and video games. In the report, the number of marketing and advertising experts that said they would be looking to hire more familiar or famous voices increased by 10 percent year-over-year.
Within the list of the top 10 most sought-after celebrity voices, three groups of vocal similarities emerged, which the report categorizes into the top three vocal archetypes for 2018. These archetypes are:
Deep and Authoritative
Famous examples of this archetype include Morgan Freeman, Cate Blanchett, and Viola Davis
Approachable Expert
This sounds like George Clooney, Matthew McConaughey, and Emma Stone
Fun, Foreign Intrigue
This includes the likes of Nicole Kidman, Tom Hiddleston, Trevor Noah, and Hugh Jackman
“Credibility, trust, and familiarity are all key components to a successful ad, so it’s little surprise the report indicates a positive shift toward voice over talent that can invoke these associations for audiences,” says Voices.com’s chief brand officer Stephanie Ciccarelli, in a news release. “While there is specific interest in celebrities to voice more projects in 2018, there is also an opportunity for non-celebrity voice over talent to market their abilities and land similar roles to their A-list counterparts. The human voice is a powerful variable, and it is being leveraged now more than ever, making the findings of this report good news for voice actors everywhere.”
The Most Popular Famous Voices of 2018 report is based on findings from the annual Voice Over Trends Report, also conducted by Voices.com, which was released earlier this year. Both reports combine the statistical insights of internal business data with survey and focus group results from nearly 1,000 marketing and advertising professionals from 53 countries to identify cutting-edge trends in the rapidly growing voice over industry.
