Baby Bob -
A cute, puffy-cheeked child who appeared as the commercial spokesperson for the
Quiznos submarine sandwich franchise. Called "The Baby That
Never Ages" by some, Baby Bob actually began his career in
1997 ad
spots for Federal Way's Freeinternet.com, a free internet provider service.
When the service failed in October 2000, the Baby Bob character
resurfaced in the short-lived comedy series BABY BOB/CBS/2002-03
with Ken
Campbell as the voice of Bob and starring Adam Arkin as
public relations executive Walter
Spencer; Joely
Fisher as Bob's mother, Lizzy Collins Spencer,
Elliot Gould as paternal grandfather, Sam Spencer, Holland Taylor as
maternal grandmother, Madeline Collins and Marissa Tait
as Teala, Bob's babysitter and confidant.
The ''Baby Bob'' is the first series
inspired by an Internet or advertising character.
On the CBS show,
when Bob's parents discovered their six-month old baby could
speak like an adult, they occasionally used him as a spy by placing him amidst
a group of adults who felt they could talk freely in front of
the child. Then, later, Bob's parents pumped him for Intel
on their conversations.
The first time
the baby spoke, Bob's mother Lizzy was entertaining Bob with a
plush toy cow. When she pretends to make the cow talk, out of
the blue her baby Bob speaks the words "Mommy don't be silly.
Cow's don't talk. They just moo" Of course, this surprise
vocalization leaves his mother awestruck. Suddenly realizing
that she is talking to a adult in a tiny body, Lizzy proclaims "OK,
we're switching to formula, like, tonight"
The family later decides it better to keep the baby's talent a
secret to avoid an onslaught of a media circus and the
inevitable curiosity seekers.
Baby Bob's Family in CBS Series
In general, Baby
Bob talks because things are just too intolerable about him and
he has to express himself. On one occasion Bob says "Held a
raisin in my fist for almost two seconds, but then I dropped it,
then I picked it up, then I dropped it - they're so darned
little!". On his age he remarks "I wasn't born yesterday -
recently, but not yesterday".
According to his
biography, Bob began to talk at the
age of three months. Although born smart (supposed IQ of 140), the mobility
of his baby body is limited. Bob is also not able to eat solid foods, although he'd
love to be able to chow down on one of the new line of toasted Quiznos submarine sandwiches.
In one commercial spot, Bob sits
in a director's chair and laments his inability to eat grownup
food (namely, the toasted turkey sub ordered by his Mom from Quiznos). Disgusted Bob says "You know what she gave me: stringed peas. I love the gal, but
that's
just wrong." One day, however, Bob's molars will grow in, and
when that happens he'll be all over that sandwich.
The Quiznos
campaign was created by Siltanen & Partners in El Segundo, California, who based the
current Quiznos campaign - which debuted in January 2004 - on the
Baby Bob character they had created for Freeinternet.com ads in
late 1990s. Ironically, the
Baby Bob character is actually portrayed by a female baby girl named L’Wren
Scoggins. She reportedly earns about $585 a sitting. The mouth
movements on Baby Bob are computer generated using CGI effects
designed by a firm called Modern Videofilm.
Despite the
popularity of the cuddy youth, not everyone likes the tiny tot.
As one Internet blog site reported ""Shame on you, Quiznos...I’m
not eating another one of your subs until you drop Baby Bob as a
spokes being." Another blogger complained about a grown
woman hitting on a baby in order to sell toasted
sandwiches. {"You're looking very hunky"). It's a freakin' baby,
already! And a TV viewer cried "Good
god. Oh the humanity... Baby Bob is a living incarnate of
SATAN."
Baby Bob in Quiznos Ad
As the children
used in the ad spots grow older and bigger, they are replaced as
needed. Twins used to play Baby Bob have included Courtney &
Jennifer Coddington and Noah & Hannah Safer-Brickman. Ken
Campbell ("Animal" from the sitcom HERMAN'S HEAD) who provided
the voice in the CBS TV series still provides the voice of Baby
Bob in the Quiznos commercials.
In 2005, Quiznos held a nationwide
casting call for babies between 4 and 18 months, for a chance to
land a “crawl-on” role in an upcoming
Quiznos commercial alongside screen legend Baby Bob. The
winning baby will be paid $30,000. Contest ends: April 29, 2005.
TRIVIA NOTE:
Other film productions to feature talking babies included
Look Who's Talking (1989) starring Bruce Willis as the voice
of baby Mikey; Look Who's Talking, Too
(1990) with Roseanne Barr as
the voice of baby Julie; Baby Geniuses (1999) and its
sequel where baby talk ("Goo Goo Ga Ga") is actually a secret
code used by toddlers to communicate; and the TV series BABY
TALK/ABC/1991-92 with Tony Danza who provided the inner dialog
for youngster Mickey Campbell.
