Phil Dunphy Brings the Bing

The next time you're planning a vacation, ask yourself, "What Would Dunphy Do?" Ty Burrell, the actor that plays Phil Dunphy the "coolest" clueless father on ABC's Modern Family, is the voice of a new commercial for Microsoft's Bing. The spot, called "Adventures with Bing: The Big Apple," depicts a man planning his entire trip from Los Angeles to New York — booking flights, restaurants and attractions — using only the search engine.

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AOL's Got Elwood

"You've Got Mail." Three simple words that helped bring electronic mail to the masses — it could just as easily have been "You've Got Internet." In 2007, USA Today named the phrase one of the top five most memorable quotes of the last quarter-century. But where did it come from and who said it? "You've Got Mail" has got a story of its own.

In 1989, Steve Case, the young CEO of a company by the name of Quantum Computer Services, had the idea to add a human voice to its Quantum Link ("Q-Link" for short), online service. Karen Edwards, a customer service representative at the company, heard Mr. Case discussing the new feature and suggested her husband Elwood — a broadcaster by day — for the job. 

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Silicon Valley's New Pitchman

Flipboard, the new “personalized, social magazine” for the iPad officially launched yesterday to some nice reviews all around. (We concur, the app is quite cool.) 

But this post isn't about Flipboard; you can find plenty of info on why it's awesome, why it's a flop, or whether or not it's legal elsewhere. This is about the uber-relaxed, seated man featured in the demo video, Adam Lisagor — A.K.A. Lonelysandwich — who can also be heard on the You Look Nice Today podcast. He's kind of a big deal on the Internet.

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Orson Welles: Voice of Transformers & Frozen Peas

Had he not passed away on October 10, 1985, today would have been Orson Welles' 95th birthday. Sure, the director, actor, producer, and "original auteur" was widely heralded as the greatest director of all time, but he was also known for his remarkably thunderous voice that went hand-in-hand with his legendary stature. (George Lucas' initially chose Mr. Welles to voice Darth Vader but reconsidered for fear his voice was too recognizable.) 

In this post we'll take a look at two clips starring Mr. Welles. The first, which we'll call "Unicron,"has pretty much gone under the radar for the last 25 years. The second, a radio commercial outtake — let's call it "Frozen Peas" — has become infamous since its recording. 

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Ed McMahon Discusses Caring & Beachwood Aging

Way before George Clooney lent his voice to Budweiser, the late Ed McMahon was the spokesman for the King of Beers. Watch/listen to the 1976 commercial below to hear Mr. McMahon provide insight into Budweiser's history; specifically how it was created nearly century ago by "people that really cared about things, like brewing a quality beer, no matter what the cost." Of course, no Budweiser commercial would be complete without mention of Beachwood aging, a magical phrase that makes an appearance at the end of the spot. Consider us sold. 

Bob Sheppard: Voice of God; Scholar of Speech

With the 2010 Major League Baseball season now underway (in full swing, perhaps?), let us pay pay homage to the unsung heroes of America’s pastime — the public address announcers. Their unmistakable, omnipresent, voices fill stadiums and can be heard by scores of fans throughout the country, however, their personal stories often go untold. Throughout the 2010 baseball season we'll take a look at the men behind the MLB ballpark microphones.

There is no one better to kick-off this series than the legendary (former) voice of the New York Yankees, Bob Sheppard, who served as the team's public address announcer from 1951-2007 (officially retiring last year). For over half-a-century the man dubbed "the voice of God" by Reggie Jackson also announced New York Giants' games (for 50 years), profesional soccer at the Polo Grounds, West Point football, and Army-Navy games. But while Mr. Sheppard's iconic career made a mark on Yankee Stadium, Giants Stadium, Shea Stadium, Ebbetts Field, the Polo Grounds, and a dozen other stadiums throughout the country (not to mention a few Seinfeld episodes), he never forgot what brought him there in the first place — teaching and a reverence for articulation. 

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Voice of Geico Axed After Insulting Tea Party Members

It's not every day that voiceovers get controversial, but it looks like we just might have a scandal on our hands with today's news. The voice of GEICO, Lance Baxter – better known as D.C. Douglas – was reportedly fired after leaving a heated voicemail for FreedomWorks, a conservative activism organization. Mr. Douglas claims that Tea Party members posted his message and phone number online, harassed him and pressured the auto insurance provider to terminate his contract. It's worth noting that Mr. Douglas is NOT the voice of the GEICO Gecko, but the announcer at the beginning and end of the "Real People" series of commercials. Watch/listen to one of his well-known spots (with the late, great Don LaFontaine) and the (mildly NSFW) voicemail (along with reactions from Tea Partiers) after the jump.

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Johnny Depp: Enigmatic Surfer, Yogi, Doors Expert & Voice of the Sea

The Johnny Depp narrated Doors documentary When You’re Strange: A Film About the Doors opened in select cities this past weekend. In light of the film's release, we decided to take a look at some of the other voice work from the accentless man from Kentucky.

Called an "egoless star" by Entertainment Weekly, Johnny Depp, 46, is a three-time Academy Award nominee and five-time People's Choice Award winner. He is also known for his consistently offbeat character choices. We’ve been casual fans of Mr. Depp since his early days as the insubordinate undercover cop Tom Hanson on 21 Jump Street, but after learning about his brilliant voice roles — Yogi Victor! Jack Kahuna Laguna! — we have a whole new respect for the dude. 

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The Big List of Commercial Voiceovers

Introducing the big list of voiceovers. While much of this site focuses on stories and (hopefully) little known facts behind voices, we here at Whose Voice is That? decided to put together a simple yet comprehensive list of voiceovers to identify notable narrators in (mostly) commercials. So without further ado, announcing the second installment in our WViT Lists series, which can be found here.

The Hyundai Oscar ads: A Preview

As first reported by The New York Times, Jeff Bridges, the voice of Hyundai Motor America's commercials since 2007, will not be heard during the automaker's eight television spots tonight. Since Mr. Bridges is up for the Best Actor award for his performance in the film Crazy Heart, Hyundai would be violating Academy advertising guidelines if he (or his voice) appeared in a commercial during the awards.

But what first seemed like a setback, ultimately led to a brilliant tactical move. With just a few weeks to spare, Hyundai came up with a new plan and recruited seven well-known actors to pinch hit for Mr. Bridges. Tonight the car company will still air its eight commercials -- one in the pre-show and seven during the awards -- but instead of the voice of Jeffery Lebowski, you'll hear Kim Basinger, Richard Dreyfuss, David Duchovny, Catherine Keener, Michael Madsen, Mandy Patinkin, Martin Sheen talking about safety, performance, value and such.

And because we care about these things more than most, we're very happy to show you a preview. Watch below.