Castaways Hope To Survive Madison Avenue
Credit: USA Today
The castoff castaways of Survivor: The Australian Outback are signing up to play in another cutthroat game: Madison Avenue.
Booted cast members such as Rodger Bingham and Alicia Calaway are signing with talent agents. Ad "offers are flying in," says CBS spokeswoman Colleen Sullivan, who wouldn't give details. The network's deal with cast members gives it veto power over commercial offers through September, she adds. Survivor's 2-hour finale and 1-hour reunion air Thursday on CBS. The signings mark the first move by Survivor 2 cast members to follow original Survivors such as Richard Hatch to the tribal councils of Madison Avenue. But the second group has a short window of opportunity, experts warn.
"Does anyone really care about Richard Hatch? His 15 minutes are over," says Ryan Schinman, president of Platinum Rye Entertainment, which matches corporate clients with endorsers. "When Survivor 3 airs, nobody is going to care about them."
Current deals in the works:
Four booted cast members — Bingham, Maralyn "Mad Dog" Hershey, Debb Eaton and Jeff Varner — have signed with the Ruth Webb Talent Agency in Los Angeles. (Varner is working with several shops.) Webb already represents six original Survivors, including Rudy Boesch, Susan Hawk and Gervase Peterson. The avuncular Bingham is already getting offers. "Rodger is so wholesome he could do any family-friendly product," says Sherri Spillane, executive director of Ruth Webb.
Buff personal trainer Calaway has signed with IMG, the sports marketing shop that handles the likes of Venus Williams. Says IMG agent Sharon Chang: "Fitness is her niche, but going outside of sports is not impossible for her." Calaway could endorse fitness chains and clothing or make an exercise video, Chang adds.
Playboy has talked with Jerri Manthey and Amber Brkich about posing in the buff. "Jerri would probably have more appeal — she's the one people love to hate," says Playboy spokeswoman Elizabeth Norris. "But she's also revealed a lot already."
However, Spillane rates Manthey's future as zero on Madison Avenue. "There's no likability there. Maybe she'll get bad-girl roles," she says.
Both talent agents and Playboy are interested in fan favorite Elisabeth Filarski, ousted Thursday. "She might have the most appeal of all," Norris says.
Life on Madison Avenue can get very real fast for cast members of other reality shows, however. Cast members from Temptation Island and Chains of Love have gotten little endorsement interest although they are looking for deals, Spillane says.
But one of the genre's first breakout stars is aiming for a comeback: Puck from MTV's Real World has signed with Spillane. "Everybody knows his name — and that's half the battle," she says.
