If you’ve watched any television at all over the past few weeks, there is well over a 100% chance you’ve seen the line of Hyundai commercials featuring this girl. My feelings on these spots have run the gamut, from “At least it’s not those Pomplamoose commercials from last year,” to “Jesus, that’s annoying,” to “Eh, they’re not that bad” to, now “These commercials fascinate me and I must know more about them.” It’s like Stockholm Syndrome, except my captor is a cute lady with a huge guitar. Anyway, here’s what I found out:
The singer in the spot? Jessica Frech. The Nashville-based self-described “singer, songwriter, ukulele-ista, slapstick YouTube video creator, college student (and) coffee house hermit” is enjoying her on-screen spotlight after Hyundai executives became fans of her comical video “People of Walmart.” The clip – which opens with a mock-warning that it features images of “real Walmart shoppers” – has garnered more than 5 million YouTube views since its posting in May.
“I (find) it hysterical that an accidental viral video gave me the opportunity to do a national Hyundai commercial,” Frech muses on her website.
As online commenters inspire Frech each week to write a song on her YouTube series “Song Challenge,” “Hyundai’s marketing team (Innocean) challenged me to write a song about Hyundai Assurance and how they have the best warranty around,” Frech writes. “But, I had to make it with a holiday feel.” [Billboard]
So, there you go. Another case of the Internet making someone a star. I feel a little better now that we got to the bottom of that. Although, as someone who once owned one, the line “All this stress this holiday, I’m glad I bought a Hyundai” will still make my eye twitch every time I hear it. A bottle or two of good bourbon? Sure. A flamethrower? Maybe. A Hyundai? Not so much.
