DearElder.com is looking for a new face in its advertising and marketing campaigns after using Kirby Heyborne's likeness for more than four years to promote its letter-delivery service for LDS missionaries. The actor who appeared in LDS movies such as "Singles Ward" and "The R.M." could be seen on the company's Web site and billboard on I-15 between Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah, until recently. A missionary's silhouette with a question mark over the face now appears where Heyborne's suited likeness used to be seen.Paul Rolly of the Salt Lake Tribune speculated in his column last week that the company yanked Heyborne from its marketing materials because of a Miller Lite beer commercial in which the actor now living in California appeared. According to the company's press release, "We reached a point in our marketing efforts at which it was time to update our current advertising and billboards, which were created over four years ago. Our advertising and marketing is focused on approaches that make a positive statement about our services to friends and families of missionaries."Going forward, we have made a deliberate decision to select advertising that is consistent with our message of missionary support, service and values," the press release stated. The company prints and delivers letters to missionaries around the world and also features a selection of care packages that customers can choose from, including baked goods and "get-well packages."The contest information for "the new face of DearElder.com" says the individual selected will be featured on the Web site, billboards and various other advertisements, but "He/she will have no further obligations to DearElder.com, and will not be a spokesperson or representative in any other way." The application information mentions nothing about payment for the selected individual. Heyborne was the topic of much discussion in Mormon blogs last month when a Miller Lite commercial featured him attending a party and grabbing a bottle of beer. "I'm a temple-worthy member that loves his wife and kids, and fulfills his calling at church and does his home teaching. And yet I'm going to play characters that might have moral dilemmas, or do a commercial — or whatever it is — because my job is the way that I provide for my family," Heyborne said in an interview last month.
E-mail: mfarmer@desnews.com