Get Buzzed

In 1968, Andy Warhol predicted, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” More than 40 years later, Warhol’s catchy little prophesy has never been more relevant thanks to the rise of reality TV and YouTube, which allow relatively unknown people to rise up the ranks of celebrity and fame.

My guess is that if Warhol lived in our Facebook era and was prompted by social networking, blogging and other similar online phenomena, he would’ve instead quipped, “In the future, everyone will be famous… to 15 people.” Warhol’s belief was likely rooted in the fact that the media can enable any person to become famous. He wasn’t far off.

Just recently, even I got MY 15 minutes…

Picture this: Super Bowl XLIV, third quarter, crowded viewing party, and game is on the big screen, everyone cheering… Then CBS cuts to a commercial... the room grows silent to watch the highly-anticipated Super Bowl ads… Suddenly the newest Motorola ad starring Megan Fox appears on the screen…she’s sitting in a bathtub texting with friends…when across her phone flashes my face! That’s right, me, Shannon Keller, “friend” of Hollywood siren Megan Fox (okay, well, in the commercial anyway).

The back-story: my best friend and college roommate works in advertising in NY. Her client: Motorola. In a last-minute, late-night session in the edit bay they needed a “face” for Megan’s friend in the ad… and it just so happened that she had my Facebook page up on her computer. And so began my “friendship” with Miss Fox -- and the birth of my 15 minutes.

I guess Warhol was right. Media can in fact enable any person to become famous. My medium? A Super Bowl commercial that aired during the most watched program in the history of television! I suppose I didn’t quite get a FULL 15 minutes -- after all, it was just a 30-second spot. But I’ll take it. MY 15 minutes and all of its glory.

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