Entering my last semester of college, I began to reminisce about my great times here at N.C. State. I remembered moving into Owen Hall four years ago and getting my first computer, a Gateway. When moving in, I stood out from everyone else, not because of my wild hair and killer good looks, but because the box I was carrying did not say “Dell” on it. My first greeting in college was some random guy yelling, “Dude, you could have got a Dell!” As I thought about this, I remembered those Dell commercials featuring the “oh so cool” Dell guy. I wondered, “What ever happened to that guy?”
This guy personified cool. He was like Fonzie for the 21st century. And what else would a character like that be selling in the digital age but computers? He was like the friend that you had growing up that your mom always said, “He seems like such a nice boy.”
Well “Steven” from the Dell commercials, famous for his one liner, “Dude, you’re getting a Dell!” is actually an actor named Ben Curtis. Curtis became famous nationwide for playing “Steven,” a stylish teenager who convinces his friends’ parents and random people around town to buy computers from Dell. He sells the product so well, I am angry at my parents to this day for buying me that Gateway.
His character developed a cult-like fan base. Fan sites popped up on the Internet and “Dell Dude” memorabilia began to appear. Curtis traveled the country making appearances and greeting fans. What made the character so popular was that he appealed to everyone.
Girls thought he was hot. Guys wanted to be his friend (except my roommate, who when questioned about the Dell Dude said, “I hated that guy”). Parents found him funny — or at least catchy. And the elderly, who I didn’t know bought computers, were fans too.
In an interview with CNN, which originally ran in 2002 during the peak of the Dell Dude craze, Curtis reported getting fan mail from everyone from teenage girls trying to date him to the elderly thanking him. In the article, an elderly gentleman referred to him as, “the best thing since sliced bread.” Curtis said that teenage boys would come up to him on the street and yell, “Dude, I want a Dell!” and teenage girls came up to him and wanted hugs.
When Steven the Dell Dude aired, there hadn’t been an advertising icon that represented its company so well since Dave Thomas of Wendy’s.
A few years ago I remembered hearing that our computer hero got mixed up in drugs and got arrested or something, so I set out on a quest to answer the question, “What happened to the Dell guy?”
I did a little research and well, it turns out the drug rumors were true. According to CNN, in February of 2003, Curtis was busted on the streets of New York after a cop witnessed him buying marijuana from a guy on the street corner. But was anyone really surprised to hear this? I think everyone was expecting this guy to get busted for marijuana eventually. I would have been surprised if he didn’t. It was almost part of his character.
But as soon as the news came out, Curtis was fired from Dell and we saw no more awesome Dell commercials.
Since he was fired, Curtis graduated from NYU’s acting school and is currently 25 years old and working in a number of off-Broadway shows. He aspires to star in independent films.
I wondered if there was any correlation between Dell’s declining performance and the company firing the Dell Dude. The numbers don’t lie. When Curtis was fired, Dell’s stock was trading around $35 per share, now the stock trades at around $22 per share. While Curtis was doing Dell commercials, the company’s market share in the U.S. grew from 18.4 percent to 31.0 percent. Dell’s market share is currently around 33 percent.
It looks as though Curtis’s enthusiasm for Dell computers was shared by America and in his absence, people are beginning to look elsewhere for their PCs.
Message to Dell — Bring back the Dell Dude!
Tell Todd he’s getting a Dell at [email protected].
