Ellen Feiss
Encyclopedia
Ellen Feiss is an American who became an Internet phenomenon after her 2002 Errol Morris
-directed television commercial for Apple Computer
's Switch campaign
grew into a cult hit. In the commercial, the then-14-year-old high school
student complained that her father's Windows
PC
had crashed.
Fueling the popularity of the advertisement was the speculation that Feiss was under the influence of illicit drugs
during the filming of the commercial, due to her slurred speech and disoriented eyes. Feiss denied these claims in an interview with The Brown Daily Herald
and noted that she was only taking Benadryl
, an allergy medication with sedative
properties. She ascribed the "drugged" behavior to a combination of the effect of the Benadryl, together with exhaustion (she said that her ad was filmed at ten o'clock in the evening). She also explained how she had come to appear in the commercial:
A second ad, in which Feiss talks about the virtues of her PowerBook G4
, was circulated extensively on the Internet.
Feiss's popularity grew to the point where she was offered appearances on both David Letterman
's and Jay Leno
's late night shows, both of which she turned down.
In September 2005, Feiss made her movie acting debut in the French
short film Bed and Breakfast. She plays the role of an American visiting France with her boyfriend who is drawn into a dangerous fantasy world when they visit an old friend at his castle. The directors, Martin Beilby and Loïc Moreau, had seen Feiss's Apple commercial and wanted someone with her special qualities for the part, so they decided to approach Feiss herself. She accepted the offer, despite having no formal acting experience.
Feiss graduated from The Cambridge School of Weston
in 2005. , she was in college, and planning to major in either photography
and video
or women's studies
.
Errol Morris
Errol Mark Morris is an American director. In 2003, The Guardian put him seventh in its list of the world's 40 best directors. Also in 2003, his film The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.-Early life and...
-directed television commercial for Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
's Switch campaign
Apple Switch ad campaign
Switch was an advertising campaign launched by Apple Computer on June 10, 2002. It featured what the company referred to as "real people" who had "switched" from the Microsoft Windows platform to the Mac. An international television and print ad campaign directed users to a website where various...
grew into a cult hit. In the commercial, the then-14-year-old high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
student complained that her father's Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
had crashed.
Fueling the popularity of the advertisement was the speculation that Feiss was under the influence of illicit drugs
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
during the filming of the commercial, due to her slurred speech and disoriented eyes. Feiss denied these claims in an interview with The Brown Daily Herald
The Brown Daily Herald
The Brown Daily Herald is the student newspaper of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It is financially and editorially independent of the University, and publishes Monday through Friday during the academic year with additional issues during commencement, summer and orientation...
and noted that she was only taking Benadryl
Benadryl
Benadryl is a brand name allergy medicine marketed over-the-counter by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary McNeil Consumer Healthcare. Prior to 2007, Benadryl was marketed by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare...
, an allergy medication with sedative
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....
properties. She ascribed the "drugged" behavior to a combination of the effect of the Benadryl, together with exhaustion (she said that her ad was filmed at ten o'clock in the evening). She also explained how she had come to appear in the commercial:
A second ad, in which Feiss talks about the virtues of her PowerBook G4
PowerBook G4
The PowerBook G4 are a series of notebook computers that were manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple, Inc. between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line. It uses the PowerPC G4 processor, initially produced by Motorola and later by Freescale, after Motorola spun off its semiconductor...
, was circulated extensively on the Internet.
Feiss's popularity grew to the point where she was offered appearances on both David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
's and Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
's late night shows, both of which she turned down.
In September 2005, Feiss made her movie acting debut in the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
short film Bed and Breakfast. She plays the role of an American visiting France with her boyfriend who is drawn into a dangerous fantasy world when they visit an old friend at his castle. The directors, Martin Beilby and Loïc Moreau, had seen Feiss's Apple commercial and wanted someone with her special qualities for the part, so they decided to approach Feiss herself. She accepted the offer, despite having no formal acting experience.
Feiss graduated from The Cambridge School of Weston
The Cambridge School of Weston
The Cambridge School of Weston, also known as CSW, is a private, coeducational high school in Weston, Massachusetts. Currently the school has approximately 330 students, 25% of whom are boarding. The Head of School is Jane Moulding...
in 2005. , she was in college, and planning to major in either photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
and video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
or women's studies
Women's studies
Women's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...
.
External links
- Interview with Feiss on Macenstein from January 2007
- Extracts from Ellen Feiss's movie Bed and Breakfast