By Bailey Brown | Minneapolis Voice Actor

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I recently got to play a character I never expected to add to my résumé: a swear jar.

Specifically, an office swear jar with a serious problem. BambooHR’s payroll software has made things so smooth, so painless, so refreshingly drama-free, that nobody in the office swears anymore. No frustrated outbursts. No muttered curses at a spreadsheet. The jar is sitting there, empty, out of a job, and she is not happy about it.

And because this is an office in the upper Midwest, at least in spirit, she’s not going to yell about it. She’s going to be devastatingly, passive-aggressively polite about her frustration instead. Enter: Minnesota nice.

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Building the character

If you’re not from around here, “Minnesota nice” is a real thing, and it’s a specific flavor of communication. It’s relentlessly pleasant on the surface, but if you listen closely, there’s a whole undercurrent of feelings happening underneath the niceness. A Minnesotan can say “oh, that’s just fine” in a tone that somehow means the exact opposite, and everyone in the room understands exactly what just happened.

That’s the voice this character needed. Not an angry jar. Not a cartoonish, over-the-top jar. A jar who is genuinely a little hurt and annoyed, but absolutely letting you know, with a smile on her face, that this payroll software has ruined her whole purpose in life.

Getting that tone right is a balancing act. Too much edge and she stops being funny and starts being mean. Too much pleasantness and the joke disappears entirely. The character only works if the frustration is real underneath the smile, and the tone is almost sickeningly sweet.

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Here’s the spot

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Why this kind of character work matters for a commercial

Here’s the thing about a spot like this: it’s doing something a straightforward announcer read simply can’t do.

An announcer voice tells you what BambooHR’s payroll software does. Clear, professional, trustworthy — and genuinely necessary. You need that voice in there somewhere to actually communicate the product information. But an announcer voice, on its own, doesn’t usually make someone stop scrolling, laugh out loud, or send the ad to a coworker.

A character does that.

The swear jar isn’t explaining a feature. She’s reacting to one emotionally, and with a point of view. And that reaction is what makes the ad memorable. Nobody forwards a spot to their team because the voiceover clearly explained the product’s value proposition. They forward it because a swear jar had a meltdown about being unemployed, and that’s delightful, and they want someone else to feel delighted too.

The strongest commercials I’ve worked on almost always use both: an announcer voice to carry the information, and a character voice to carry the personality. They’re doing different jobs, and a script that leans entirely on one or the other usually leaves something on the table. All information and no character is forgettable. All character and no information doesn’t actually tell anyone what you’re selling.

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What this means if you’re brainstorming your next campaign

If you’re a creative director or brand marketer trying to figure out how to make a product explanation more interesting, character work is worth seriously considering — especially for a product that’s, by nature, a little dry on paper. Payroll software is not an inherently thrilling subject. A frustrated swear jar makes it one.

A few things to think about if you’re considering a character-driven spot:

Give the character a real point of view, not just a personality trait. “Funny voice” isn’t a character. “An object whose entire purpose has been undermined by your product working too well” is a character — with motivation, stakes, and a reason to exist in the story.

Let the character’s voice come from somewhere specific. Minnesota nice works for this spot because it’s a real, recognizable communication style with built-in comedic tension, the veneer of a smile layered over real feelings. Whatever your character’s voice is, give it a real texture to pull from rather than a generic “funny” register.

Don’t be afraid to let the character be a little sympathetic. The swear jar isn’t a villain. She’s not even really mad at the people in the office, she’s mad at obsolescence. That makes her funnier and a little more relatable than if she were just cranky for the sake of it.

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I love this kind of work

If you couldn’t tell, character voice over might be my favorite part of this job. Bringing a personality to life that didn’t exist until someone wrote it down, and finding the exact right tone to make it land, is one of the most fun creative puzzles in voice over.

If you’ve got a character that needs a voice, whether it’s an object with feelings, an animated mascot, or something nobody’s thought of yet, I’d love to hear about it. Free custom audition, and I promise I’ll have fun with it.

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Bailey Brown is a Minneapolis-based voice actor specializing in commercial, character, animation, e-learning, IVR, and corporate work. She records from a professional home studio with Source Connect Standard capability, live playback, and real-time editing. Learn more or request a free audition here.

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Frequently asked questions

What is character voice over in commercials? Character voice over involves giving a personality, point of view, and emotional reaction to a character within an ad — whether that’s an animated mascot, an inanimate object, or a stylized human role. Unlike a straightforward announcer read, character voice over is designed to create an emotional or comedic connection with the audience, often making the ad more memorable and more likely to be shared.

Why do commercials use both an announcer voice and a character voice? They serve different purposes. An announcer voice clearly and credibly communicates product information — what it is, what it does, why it matters. A character voice creates personality, humor, and emotional engagement. The strongest commercials often combine both: the announcer carries the message, and the character makes people actually want to watch and remember it.

What makes a good commercial character voice? A good character voice comes from a specific, recognizable point of view rather than a generic “funny voice.” Strong character work gives the character real motivation and stakes — even in a comedic ad — and roots the vocal performance in an authentic style or regional flavor that audiences can recognize and relate to.

Can a voice actor play multiple character types, not just announcer reads? Many professional voice actors, including those who do primarily commercial and corporate work, are also skilled at character and animation voice over. It’s worth asking about range and requesting a custom audition for character-specific projects — the skills involved (timing, personality, emotional nuance) are different from a straight announcer read, and not every voice actor specializes in both.

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