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everywhere at once

He’s “That Guy.”

And now he’s in the New York Times.

Rob Huebel, who will forever be Mr. “Inconsiderate Cellphone Man” to me, has been popping up in commercials all over the place, starring as everything from “Candidate Zero” for NetZero to a FedEx tour guide. He’s become so recognizable that, he tells the Times, his agents have told him he may have to “lay low for a while” to help prevent a possible viewer backlash. (“An Actor Working on Madison Avenue” - 09/07/04)

“He’s a very recognizable character,” said John McNeil, creative director at Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide in New York, part of the WPP Group and the agency behind the Solae campaign. “It’s not the everyman, because it’s a little bit more highbrow, but he’s got this kind of aw-shucks quality.” …

Mr. Huebel was previously rejected for the role of the Miller Brewing spokesman who declared Miller Lite a candidate for “president of beers” this year. “Miller wouldn’t have me for my campaign, so I took my platform elsewhere,” Mr. Huebel said.

All the face time has brought Mr. Huebel a vague sort of celebrity. “I do get recognized,” he said. “It depends on what I’m wearing. If I’m talking on my cellphone then people recognize Inconsiderate Cellphone Man. People will say ‘mauled by a tiger!’”