Celebrities certainly know how to sell. This month, local poets, mascots and TV personalities go head-to-head to sell appetizers from restaurants such as Blink, Nectar Desserts and Rouge to a hungry crowd at the Telus Convention Centre.
The celebrity team that raises the most money for Alberta Theatre Projects takes home a trophy and the bragging rights of possessing the slickest pitch. With more than a dozen teams vying for the prize, a sales strategy is a must. So, we turned to three returning celebs and find out their tactics on how to outsell the competition.
CELEBRITIES:
Jill Belland
On location host for CityTV's Breakfast Television
“The key is to be aggressive, particularly near the midpoint of the evening when people have had a few drinks. I’ve had my day as a waitress and have the skills to romance a menu. I plan on practicing that technique. Last year, I ended up bribing people. This year, I think I might have cheerleaders helping me. It’s really fair game once the evening gets going.”
Ian White
Anchorman for CTV News
“It’s a joint effort with the restaurant. Sometimes you’re at the whim of the hors d’oeuvres you have to hawk. I’ve learned that it has to be simple. People are walking around with a drink in one hand and another hand free for an hors d’oeuvre. People won’t buy anything that is too labour-intensive. It has to be simple. It has to be a one-hander.”
Sheri-D Wilson
Spoken word poet and Artistic Director or the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival
“One year, I was so desperate I wrote love poems for extra sales. I will do almost anything and, yet, I still haven’t won. The handsome hockey and football players always seem to win. Calgary backs them and they don’t need a strategy, but poets need strategy. This year, I am considering pretending to be a sports person and getting my girlfriends to be my team.”
The17th annual Lawson Lundell Celebrity Hors d’Oeuvres takes place February 19. Tickets can be purchased separately or with the pre-event staging of ATP’s Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays production, Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre. 403-294-7402, or atplive.com.
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