NEW YORK — Dude, you're getting a rest.
Steven, the popular blond-haired character who has shilled for Dell Computer Corp. over the past two years, is moving aside — at least temporarily — at what may be the height of his popularity.
Dell ads that hit TV screens this past weekend featured a group known as the "Dell interns." In the ads, designed by Omnicom Group Inc.'s DDB agency, the would-be computer geeks hassle various Dell staffers.
Steven appears at the end of at least one of the new commercials. According to Bob Kaufman, a Dell spokesman, the interns' appearance doesn't spell the demise of the irascible pitchman.
"We're just trying something new out with this new ad campaign," Kaufman says. "Of course, we still do have Steven running in the ads that are on now, and we will monitor how they do in the marketplace."
Steven, played by actor Ben Curtis, has practically blanketed the pop-culture landscape since his creation by Interpublic Group of Cos.' Lowe agency in late 2000.
Since his introduction, Steven has grown up before our eyes, graduating, seemingly, from high school, and moving to an undisclosed college campus.
The original Lowe spots featured home videos of Steven trying to harangue parents into buying their high-school offspring a Dell. Three months later, Dell took its account over to DDB, which added the famous tag line "Dude, you're getting a Dell" to the mix.
One branding expert believes the slogan is more important to Dell than the actor who has made it into a pop-culture catchphrase.
"My guess is that Dell found he was not hitting the demographic as strongly as they wanted him to," says Jeff Lotman, chief executive of Global Icons, a Los Angeles branding consultancy, of Steven. If his assumption is correct, Lotman likens Steven to a popular ad character like Joe Isuzu, who he says enthralled the nation but did little for the overall sales of his backer.